Changes
by lakergirl4life
Summary: Their lives were on four separate paths, then one night changes everything. Carly. Johnny. Brenda. Jason. Brazen and Carly/Johnny
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**December 16, 1997**

Carly wrapped her coat tighter around her, trying to stay warm from the cold as she pounded on Jason's door. "Jason!" Carly shouted. "Jason!" Finally realizing that Jason wasn't home, Carly slumped against the wall and carefully eased herself onto the ground. She'd be fine sitting for now but it would take her forever to get up. Carly rested her hand over her stomach, "It's okay, it's okay."

Johnny stepped off the elevator and started to head to his penthouse when he noticed Carly sitting on the floor, shivering and crying. "Carly, what's wrong?" Johnny asked, his voice filled with concern for his childhood friend and long ago girlfriend.

"They're trying to take my baby," Carly said. "I can't - " Carly started crying again. "I can't let them."

Briefly wondering if he was going to regret this, Johnny helped Carly off the floor and gave her a hug, "I won't let anyone take your baby," Johnny promised. Regardless of how he felt about Carly now, there was no way he was going to let Tony take her child away.

"Johnny, you can't fix this," Carly said. "It's too complicated and - " Carly paused and sadly smiled. She wouldn't be in this situation if she'd listened to Johnny months earlier. Johnny had told her to give up on this revenge plot against Bobbie and if she'd listened to him, she wouldn't have been with Tony. She wouldn't have gotten in a fight with Tony and slept with AJ in a drunken haze and not know who her baby's father is, but then - she wouldn't be pregnant. "I can't ask you - "

Johnny brushed his lips over Carly's forehead, "Carly, you're not asking me to do anything," Johnny said. "I'm offering. I'm not going to let Tony take your baby from you." Carly started crying again. "Carly, what else is wrong?" He could tell that something else was bothering her. Them, she said them. "Carly, who else is trying to take your baby?"

"AJ," Carly whispered, her voice so low it was almost inaudible. No one knew she slept with AJ, not even Johnny. There was a time in their lives when there weren't any secrets between them, but that time had passed long ago.

This explained why Carly showed up on Jason's doorstep. Johnny said a silent prayer and hugged Carly tighter, "Let's go inside, get you into some dry clothes and we'll figure this out," Johnny said.

Carly wiped her face and laughed, "You're just trying to get me out of my clothes," Carly said.

Johnny looked at Carly and rested his eyes on her stomach, "Yeah, that must be it," Johnny quietly said, unable to keep the hurt out of his voice. He hadn't been romantically involved with Carly in years, but they'd been heading down that path again when she showed up in Port Charles in search of her mother.

"Johnny - " Carly paused. "I'm sorry." This probably would be Johnny's baby if she hadn't been so determined to ruin Bobbie's life.

_"I can't do this, Carly."_

_"Johnny, please. I love you, it's just - "_

_"I can't standby while you self-destruct."_

_"She abandoned me! She gave me up and never looked back! And it's not like she never wanted kids! She had two kids! She adopted two kids and threw me out! She never gave me a chance!"_

_"I know and I'm not excusing that. But, you don't have to do this. You don't have to destroy Bobbie's life."_

_"She destroyed mine. I'm returning the favor."_

_"I love you. I always will, but if you're going to destroy Bobbie's life - I can't be with you."_

Johnny sighed, "It'll be okay," Johnny promised. "Whatever I have to do to make this right for you, I will."

* * *

"I'll have someone pick you up later," Jason said.

"Okay, thanks for dropping me off," Emily said. "Grandfather - " Emily paused. "He doesn't think I should be visiting Nikolas."

"I'm not sure about that either, but he's your friend." He had nothing against Nikolas personally and he did feel bad that someone aiming for him shot Nikolas, but he was Emily's friend. "I - " Jason turned his head when he heard an argument at the other end of the hospital.

"Let me go!" Brenda shouted and struggled to get away from Jax. "Jax let me go!"

Jax held Brenda tighter, "Can I get a nurse over here?" Jax asked. "You're just going to spend some time in the hospital."

"I'm not crazy, let me go," Brenda insisted. She was fighting him as hard as she could but she was no match for his strength.

"Brenda calm down, before - "

"Before what? Before I'm admitted to the psych ward?" Brenda asked. She knew that she'd gotten out of control at the photo shoot, but she definitely wasn't having the mental breakdown that Jax seemed convinced she was having. She was so sick of everyone watching her every move. She knew that Sonny told Jason to have a guard watch her. The guard was discreet, she wasn't even sure who he was, but she could just tell someone was watching her. And Jax, he was worse than Sonny. Jax was watching her every move just waiting to catch her - doing what, she wasn't really sure, but Jax was definitely watching her.

"Can I get someone to sedate her?" Jax asked, ignoring Brenda. He needed to get on the phone to take care of all the footage. There was an important deal coming up and he didn't want any of this to negatively impact the deal before the signatures were in place.

"I'll be back," Jason said and rushed to the other end of the hospital. Brenda was a lot of things and crazy was at the top of the list, but no matter how crazy she was she had a strong grip on reality. "What's going on here?"

"Haven't you done enough?" Jax asked. "Because of you, because of you and Corinthos - you two caused Brenda to have a breakdown."

"I did not have a breakdown," Brenda said.

Jax laughed softly, "When I got there, the room was trashed. Are you telling me you didn't do that?" Jax asked.

"Brenda?" Jason asked.

"I threw some things around the room! I broke a mirror!" Maybe she needed to work on her anger management but she did not need to be admitted to the psych ward. "But I did not have a breakdown!" Brenda exclaimed. She started struggling again when she saw a nurse approaching her with a needle. "Get that away from me! I don't need any drugs!"

"Are you authorized to treat her?" Jason asked. The last thing he wanted to do was get involved with whatever crisis Brenda was facing today, but he couldn't standby and watch while Jax admitted her to the psych ward.

"I am a registered nurse."

"That's not what I asked," Jason said. "I didn't ask if you were qualified to treat her, I asked if you were authorized to treat her." He'd seen the look in Brenda's eyes and her eyes were glazed over, not because she was crazy but because she was scared. Jason wasn't sure what she was scared of. He didn't know if she was scared of being admitted to the psych ward or if she was afraid of Jax.

"Mr. Jacks - "

"Mr. Jacks does not make my medical decisions," Brenda said. "Jason, please. Do something. I know you - " Brenda paused. She really didn't want to remind Jason of the fact that they hated each other. Jason seemed to be the only one in any sort of position to help her and she didn't want to antagonize him before he got the chance. She wasn't sure if bringing up Sonny would help or hurt her plea, but to be on the safe side she decided not to mention Sonny. "Jason, please. Don't let Jax do this."

Before Jason had a chance to say anything, Emily came running through the corridor with Alan behind her, "What's going on here?" Alan asked.

"Mr. Jacks brought in Ms. Barrett - "

"I know who she is, why are you trying to sedate her?" Alan asked.

"Alan, she had a breakdown. She flipped out at a photo shoot," Jax said. "We all know that Brenda is unstable, I'm trying to prevent a problem."

"You can't do this," Jason said.

"Why are you here?" Jax asked. "You don't even like Brenda."

"Jax, let Brenda go," Alan said in a soothing voice. "Just let her go." Jax reluctantly let go of Brenda and she started rubbing her arms where he had been holding her.

"Dr. Quartermaine - "

"I'll handle this," Alan said. He wasn't about to let Jax or anyone else for that matter railroad Brenda into being admitted into the psych ward.

"Alan, I appreciate your concern, really I do, but Brenda really isn't in a position to make medical decisions," Jax said. "If you'd seen the room where the photo shoot was, you'd agree with me. There's footage, I'm sure it's running on the news by now. And if word gets out that the Chief of Staff refused to admit Brenda, because of sentimental reasons and something happens, you'll have a hefty lawsuit to deal with."

"Alan, please," Brenda pleaded as she saw Alan struggling with what to do. She knew that he wanted to release her, but couldn't thanks to Jax's veiled threat. "I'm not crazy. I lost my temper."

"Alan, she's not crazy," Jason said. "You can't keep her here."

"Jason, Brenda - I'm sorry, but Brenda they're going to have to admit you. It's a chance that we can't take," Alan apologetically said.

"I'm not crazy," Brenda choked out in between sobs.

"Brenda, I'm sorry," Alan said. "But Jax is your fiancé and if you're not in the right frame of mind to make your own medical decisions, he can make them for you."

Brenda turned her head towards Jason, silently pleading with him not disagree with what she was about to say, "Jason's my fiancé," Brenda said.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

For the first time since the accident, Brenda was grateful that Jason was able to keep his face devoid of all emotion. Thankfully he didn't react at all to her announcement.

Jason's eyes drifted across the small group that had formed around the nurses' station. Brenda was desperate for him to do something, anything to prevent Jax from admitting her to the psych ward. Alan had to know that this was a lie but he seemed eager to believe it, if it meant that he'd found a loophole in admitting Brenda. Emily looked excited, for whatever reason she was fond of Brenda and would readily believe this without question. Jax seemed outraged at the idea and started walking closer to Brenda, who since she'd made her announcement had started to walk towards him.

Jax was the first one to break the silence, "What?" Jax asked. "That's not true. Alan, you really need to do something here. Brenda's clearly lost touch with reality - "

Seeing that Jason wasn't going to say anything, Brenda took it upon herself to convince them it was true. "It's true," Brenda said and showed Jax her ring finger. The ring Jax had given her a few weeks ago was noticeably absent from her finger and in its' place was a ring Lila had given her a few years ago as a birthday present. Hopefully Alan would recognize the ring but wouldn't remember that Lila had been the one to give it to her.

"That's grandmother's ring," Emily interrupted. She remembered the ring because of the distinctive setting. A large single diamond solitaire, surrounded by sapphires and blue topaz. She hadn't seen the ring in a while, but didn't realize that her grandmother had given the ring to Jason, who apparently gave it to Brenda. "This is so exciting!" Emily hugged Brenda and then Jason. "How come nobody told me?"

Jax turned towards Jason, "You gave her that ring?" Jax asked.

"She's wearing it," Jason said. He hated lying. He really didn't understand the concept of lying or the need for it, but in a situation like this, he couldn't tell the truth. He couldn't really lie either, so he did what he did when he didn't want to tell the truth - he spoke around it.

Alan offered Jason a handshake, "Why didn't you say anything?" Alan asked. "Mother knew and she didn't say anything?" This was wonderful news. Brenda had always been a part of their family and this marriage just made it official. Hopefully, she'd be able to do something to get Jason away from that lifestyle and return to the family.

"You hate each other," Jax said.

Brenda smiled at Jason and took a chance and reached for his hand, "Well, you know what they say - there's a thin line between love and hate," Brenda said. There was that line, but she and Jason had never crossed it.

"What about Sonny?" Jax asked.

"What about him?" Jason asked.

"Doesn't he have something to say about this?" Jax asked.

"Well - " Brenda paused, and looked at Jason. "That's why he didn't show up at the wedding. He found out about me and Jason."

"You two were meeting in secret?" Emily asked. "This is so romantic. It's straight out of a movie!"

For once in his life, Jason was grateful that Emily got excited about anything that had to do with a wedding. Hopefully, she'd detract some of the attention away from him and he'd be able to get Brenda out of the hospital before Jax steamrolled Alan into having her admitted. "Just like a movie," Jason said. "Can we go?"

"Of course," Alan said. "Brenda, I couldn't be happier with this news. I can't wait to share it with the family - "

"Actually," Brenda interrupted. "Jason and I, we're not ready to share this with everyone yet. We'd appreciate it if you kept the news to yourselves."

"You're just going to let her go?" Jax asked. "Unbelievable. Alan, she destroyed the studio! There's broken glass everywhere!"

Alan smiled at Brenda, "Well, Jax that isn't your decision to make. If Brenda is incapable of making medical decisions, Jason will be the one to make those for her," Alan said. "Brenda is Jason's fiancée, not yours."

"You can't let her go," Jax said. "I still want her admitted."

"We're leaving," Jason said.

"Brenda, I'm sorry about all of this," Alan apologized. "I never would've admitted you, but with the threat of a lawsuit - "

"It's okay," Brenda said. "I understand. So we're going to get going."

"Actually - " Alan paused. He still wasn't clear on the validity of this sudden engagement between Brenda and Jason, but there was one thing he needed to discuss with the two of them. "Can you two come to my office for a minute?"

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Johnny asked as Carly walked downstairs. He'd been doing a lot of thinking while Carly was in the shower and he'd reached a decision. He had a way to make sure that Carly kept her baby and that no one would ever try to take the baby from her. He hoped that she went along with this.

"Better, much better," Carly said. It was amazing what a hot shower could do for a person. She felt relaxed for the first time in weeks. Maybe he'd let her stay here for a few weeks, at least until the baby was born so she'd have some time to figure out what to do. Right now she needed to get both Tony and AJ off her back, at least until the baby was born. After the baby was born, she knew there'd be a custody battle but she didn't want to have to think about that right now.

Johnny motioned for Carly to sit next to him and put his arm around her, "It'll be okay," Johnny promised. "I'm going to make sure of that."

Carly rested her head on Johnny's shoulder and sighed, "This isn't your mess to fix," Carly said. "I got myself into this, I'll find some way to get out of it." She just wasn't sure what that would be. "It's not your job to make this right for me."

"You're not alone," Johnny said. "Whatever you need, you know that I'm here for you - "

"I know," Carly whispered. Even though, Johnny had cut her out of his life romantically she knew that if she ever needed anything all she needed to do was ask. Johnny was the one constant in her life. He was the one person that never turned his back on her. Even though he had told her he couldn't be with her, it didn't end their friendship. Normally, Johnny was the first person she turned to when things got rough but seeing how AJ was technically Jason's brother, she hoped that he'd have some sort of influence over him and get him to back off or something. Of course, Jason wasn't home but luckily Johnny was. "I just - "

"You just what?" Johnny asked as he reached for Carly's hand.

"I just feel like everything is caving in on me," Carly said. "Everything is just spiraling out of control. I can't lie anymore. I can't do this anymore. Johnny, I just want my baby. I just want to be able to go to sleep tonight and forget about everything else. I'm sick of waking up in the middle of the night, wondering if someone is going to pound down my door and demand to take my baby."

"I'm not going to let that happen," Johnny said. "Nothing or no one can touch you here. There's something I need to talk to you about." He knew that Carly was going to be a great mother. She loved children and had this way of relating to them that blew him away. Carly was an only child and didn't have any nieces or nephews, but she adored his and the feelings were mutual.

"Can it wait until tomorrow?" Carly asked. "I just - " Carly turned her head towards the door, she could here people arguing on the other side of the door. "It's AJ."

Johnny kissed the top of Carly's head, "I'll handle this," Johnny said and opened the door.

"I knew she'd be here," AJ said and started to walk inside but Rey was holding him back. "She's always with you or my gangster brother."

Rey stepped forward, "Johnny, I - "

"Rey, it's okay," Johnny said. "I have some things to say to AJ."

Carly walked up to Johnny and stood behind him, "AJ, just leave," Carly said.

"I'm not going anywhere until you agree - "

"She doesn't have to agree with anything," Johnny said. "I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. The baby that Carly is carrying, it's not yours. It's not Tony's." Johnny waited a few moments, before continuing. He wished he would've gotten the chance to discuss this with Carly first, but AJ coming over tonight prevented that. "It's our baby, mine and Carly's - not yours, get out."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Carly stood silently behind Johnny as he argued with AJ, only speaking up to agree with Johnny. When Johnny said he was going to help her this wasn't what she'd envisioned. This definitely went beyond the call of friendship. "AJ, get out of here. We slept together once. It was over before it began and we used a condom," Carly said. She vaguely remembered that the condom broke, but AJ was practically passed out by that point and he hadn't brought it up yet.

"When my baby – "

"How many times do you need to hear it?" Johnny asked. "Carly is not carrying your baby, she's carrying mine. Get out of here before I get a restraining order. I want you to stop harassing the mother of my child and get out before I throw you out!" Johnny stepped forward and AJ started to say something but thought better of it when he caught the lethal glare in Johnny's eyes. As soon as AJ stepped into the elevator, Johnny told Rey that he only wanted to be disturbed if the building was on fire. Rey nodded and Johnny closed and locked the door. Johnny reached for Carly's hand. He knew he had a lot of explaining to do, "Carly – "

"Why?" Carly whispered through tears. "Why did you claim my baby?" She wanted nothing more than for this child to really be Johnny's but the truth was that it wasn't.

"I wanted to talk about this with you first," Johnny said. "I'm sorry for just announcing it to AJ without talking to you – " Carly waved her hand at Johnny indicating that she was fine with that. "I thought about this and me being the father is the best solution."

"It's a lie," Carly said and let Johnny lead her to the couch. "Even if AJ backed off tonight, he's not going to give up. Tony won't either, he's already getting ready to sue me for custody. They're going to want a DNA test as soon as the baby is born."

"I'll take care of it," Johnny said.

"I can't let you do this," Carly said. "I don't want you to be burdened – "

"Listen to me," Johnny said. "You're not a burden. Your baby is not a burden. I want to do this. All you have to do is let me."

"I want to," Carly said. "Really, I do but – "

"But nothing," Johnny said. "Carly – "

"Do you know how many times I wished that this baby was yours?" Carly asked.

"Probably about the same number of times I wished it was mine," Johnny said. "It can be. All you have to do is say yes."

"You know I think you're gonna make a great dad. I can picture you coaching little league and teaching your kids how to ride their bikes," Carly said. "Any kid would be so lucky to have you as a dad. Just not mine."

"Yes, yours," Johnny said. "I know you'll be a wonderful mother. I don't doubt that. I love your child because it's a part of you and I know we can be good parents. Carly give me a chance. I promise you that I'll do everything I can to keep Tony and AJ away from your baby regardless of what you decide. Let me help you - your baby, our baby."

Carly felt her resolve weakening, "Are you sure?" Carly asked. "What happens if you meet someone else and - "

"Look at me," Johnny said and touched Carly's face. "There won't be someone else. It's you, Carly. It's always been you." Carly threw her arms around Johnny and hugged him. "Besides, do you think my family would let me bring another girl home?"

Carly laughed, "No," Carly said. She felt the baby kick and she reached for Johnny's hand. "Say hi to Daddy."

* * *

Jason glared at Brenda on their way up the elevator, "Now I know you're delusional," Jason said. He had his doubts earlier when he saw Brenda fighting with Jax, but considering what she said to get away from Jax, he was positive. Brenda was crazy. "It's not too late to call Alan."

"I'm not crazy," Brenda said. "Well, I'm not certifiably crazy and you know it, otherwise you wouldn't have helped me."

"If I would've known that you'd have to stay with me, I would've reconsidered," Jason said. Alan suggested that it would be best if Brenda stayed with him for a while, at least until the publicity died down. Jason groaned as he realized he'd now have to have someone handle the media. He wanted the footage and all segments off the air.

"I didn't know he was going to suggest this," Brenda said. "I thought he was going to invite us to dinner or - "

"We are not going to dinner there," Jason said. "I don't care who invites you, tell them no or you'll be on your way to the psych ward." The elevator doors opened and Rey looked at the pair curiously. "Go inside, I need to talk to Johnny."

"He asked not to be disturbed," Rey said.

"I just need five minutes," Jason said.

Rey glanced at Brenda then turned his attention back to Jason, "He's with Ms. Roberts and - "

"Okay, when you see him tell him I was looking for him," Jason said and lightly shoved Brenda inside the penthouse.

"Ms. Roberts," Brenda said and sat down on the sofa. "What's her deal?"

"She's a friend," Jason said.

"She's also pregnant," Brenda said. "Is it your kid?"

"No," Jason said.

"Did you sleep with her?" Brenda asked. "Robin thinks you did."

"Carly is Johnny's girl," Jason said. "No, I didn't sleep with her." There had been one night when he almost did, but that was before he knew who she was. He'd met Carly at Jake's and he'd been thinking about asking her upstairs but then Johnny showed up. Once Johnny showed up, all the pieces started to fall into place. Carly Roberts was really Caroline Benson, Johnny's old girlfriend and that was all he needed to know to back off.

"I thought she was dating Dr. Jones," Brenda said. "Does that mean - "

"We're not here to dissect Carly's life," Jason said. He was one of the few people who knew who Carly actually was and Johnny asked him to keep it that way.

"Fine, why are we here?" Brenda asked. "Why couldn't we stay at my cottage? It's much nice than this place."

"Brenda, I didn't invite you here because I wanted your company. I certainly didn't invite you here because we're friends. There's no way that I'm living at your cottage and if you want to stay there go right ahead. Just don't expect me to come rushing down to the hospital if Jax drags you down to the psych ward again. I – "

"Jason – "

"If you're going to complain about the furniture or the décor or anything, I can think of a padded room," Jason said.

"Jason – "

"Sleep wherever you want," Jason said. He grabbed his coat and left the penthouse. "Tomorrow I want to know exactly what happened at that photo shoot."

"Asshole," Brenda muttered as she walked into the kitchen. "I just wanted to know if he was hungry."

* * *

"Carly," Johnny softly said and lightly stroked her cheek. "Wake-up. You need to go upstairs." They'd been talking most of the night and must have fallen asleep.

Carly groaned, "I'll be fine down here," Carly said.

"This couch is going to kill your back," Johnny said as he shifted to try to get comfortable. He made a mental note to buy a new couch, a more comfortable couch. The one Sonny left in his place wasn't good for sleeping.

"My back is fine," Carly said. "This couch is going to kill your back, not mine." Carly reached for Johnny's hand and rested it on her stomach. "I'm sleepy, the baby's sleeping. Turn off the light and go back to sleep." Just for one night she wanted to pretend that things were perfect. She knew that Johnny agreed to be her baby's father and they'd find a way to make it work, but she knew that his decision had more to do with the baby than her.

Johnny reached behind him and turned off the light. "Goodnight, Caroline," Johnny said.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jason looked at the stack of videotapes and the pile of negatives sitting on his desk. He wasn't surprised at how easy it was to get a hold of all the footage from Brenda's breakdown. What surprised him was that one of the TV stations called him because they'd been receiving calls from Jax wondering when the footage would air. He wasn't sure what sort of game Jax was playing but it was one that Brenda didn't need to be a part of. "Great, now I'm her protector," Jason muttered as he picked at a slice of half-eaten pizza. "Now, I'm talking to myself. Maybe I'm going crazy too." Jason looked up when he heard his office door open and groaned when he saw AJ. He quickly grabbed the footage from Brenda's shoot and locked it in his desk. "What are you doing here?"

AJ shifted nervously in the doorway as he tried to gauge Jason's mood. Jason was radiating negative energy - maybe he if could put Jason in a better mood he'd be more willing to help. "Jase - hey, I ran into Emily. She mentioned you and Brenda are engaged. Congratulations, I didn't know about - "

"Get to the point AJ," Jason said, his mood shifting from annoyed to extremely annoyed at the mention of his engagement.

"I need your help with Carly," AJ said. "I know she's a friend of yours but - "

"Why?" Jason asked. "She's on leave with the hospital and the nursing program."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," AJ said.

"The nursing program?" Jason asked. "Call Alan. Talk to Bobbie."

"No - " AJ paused. "Her pregnancy."

"What does her pregnancy have to do with you?" Jason asked.

"Everything," AJ said. "The baby is mine."

"You're sleeping with Carly?" Jason asked. Johnny was going to have a fit. He put up with the whole thing with Dr. Jones because it wasn't about Dr. Jones, it was about the revenge plot that Carly had against Bobbie.

"Just once," AJ said.

"Doesn't mean the baby is yours," Jason said.

"All it takes is once," AJ said. "Jase, I tried to reason with her but she won't listen. I talked to a lawyer and we - "

"You're trying to take her baby?" Jason asked.

"My baby," AJ corrected. "And I know you're friends with her but I'm your brother. Now she's claiming that your friend Johnny is the baby's father but I know it's a lie. Tony Jones might be the father but Carly and Johnny?" AJ laughed. "I don't know what she has on him, but its gotta be big. He swore up and down that he was the father."

Jason now realized why Johnny wanted to be alone - with Carly - tonight. He knew for a fact that Johnny and Carly hadn't slept together in a long time, but those two were so hung up on each other that Johnny's admission didn't surprise him. "Johnny and Carly go back a long way. They were engaged once," Jason said. "If Johnny said the kid is his, its his."

"He waited all this time to - "

"Isn't that what you're doing?" Jason asked. "Get out AJ."

"Jase - "

"Leave," Jason said. "If I were you, I'd do exactly what Johnny said. Do you know he once broke a guy's arm for hitting on Carly?"

"Was that a threat?" AJ asked.

"Just stating a fact," Jason said.

Not realizing that mentioning Brenda had set Jason off, AJ decided his best bet to leave on a good note would be mentioning the engagement again. "Congratulations again. Brenda - she's a great woman," AJ said.

Jason glared at AJ until he left. He'd almost forgotten that everyone thought he was _engaged_ to Brenda until AJ reminded him - twice. Jason sighed and called Johnny. He hung up when it went straight to voicemail. He took a chance and called Carly but her phone also went to voicemail. Jason finally called Rey, "I know he said he didn't want to be disturbed and I know Carly is with him but he has ten minutes before I come looking for him," Jason said.

"I'll let him know," Rey said.

"Is Brenda still at my place?" Jason asked.

"Yes," Rey said.

"Has she had any visitors?" Jason asked.

"None," Rey said. "Is she supposed to?"

"She can see whoever she wants, just keep her there until I get home," Jason said and hung up. Once he figured out what Johnny had gotten himself into he needed to figure out what to do with Brenda.

* * *

Brenda grabbed her money off Jason's desk and opened the door. Instead of the pizza delivery guy she found Carly, "Hi," Brenda said. "Jason - " Brenda paused. "He's not home."

Carly slightly frowned, "I was looking for Johnny," Carly said. She vaguely remembered Johnny waking her up and leaving but couldn't remember what he told her. "I guess I'll just head back to Johnny's. If you see him - "

"I'll tell him you were here," Brenda offered. "Look, I know we don't really know each other but if you want to wait here, you can. I'm stuck here - Jason won't let me leave. I just ordered from Marco's, if you're hungry."

Carly looked at Brenda for a few moments trying to gage her sincerity. She couldn't tell how sincere Brenda was, but curiosity got the best of her and she wanted to know what Brenda was doing at Jason's and why Jason wouldn't let her leave, "Sure, why not?" Carly asked. "The baby keeps me up sometimes and tonight is definitely one of those nights."

"How far along are you?" Brenda asked and tentatively stepped towards Carly. She extended a hand, "Do you mind if - "

Carly smiled and placed Brenda's hand on her stomach, "Try over here," Carly said.

The baby kicked and Brenda laughed, "You have a strong little kicker in there," Brenda said. "You're so lucky."

Carly's thoughts drifted to Johnny and she nodded, "Yeah we are," Carly said. Brenda drew her hand away and she noticed the ring on Brenda's finger. "That's some ring you got there. So you and Jason - "

Brenda hesitated before answering. She wasn't sure who she could trust about the situation and wasn't sure if Carly was on that list, "Isn't it beautiful?" Brenda asked. "Have you met Jason's grandmother, Lila?" Carly nodded and Brenda continued, "Her father gave this ring to her mother on their twenty-fifth anniversary and she thought this ring - "

"You and Jason are engaged?" Carly asked. "That ring is gorgeous! It reminds me of Jason's eyes. This is the first I'm hearing about this. I'm going to kill Jason. I thought Jason hated - " Carly paused. "I mean, I thought - "

Brenda laughed softly, Jason did hate her. "It's okay," Brenda said. "Jason and I have had an interesting relationship over the years."

"I didn't even know he was seeing anyone," Carly said.

"Well, you know how private Jason is," Brenda said. She realized that if she came up with some crazy story about a clandestine romance, Jason would kill her. She was pushing it with the engagement but if she divulged any details he would kill her.

"I still can't believe you and Jason are getting married," Carly said. "Did you two set a date? Or are you going to elope or - "

Carly and Brenda turned their heads when they heard the door open, "Jason - " Brenda began.

Jason pointed at Brenda and dropped her pizza on the desk, "Kitchen - now," Jason ordered.

"I was just - "

"Now," Jason said.

Johnny walked over to Carly, "Why is she here?" Johnny asked.

"They're engaged," Carly said. "Check out that ring."

"We are not engaged!" Jason said.

"You told me - "

"I don't care what I told you. We - "

"Jason! We both agreed - "

"Maybe I changed my mind and - "

"So you're going to ship me off to - "

"I never said - "

"Should I call Alan personally?" Brenda asked. She started crying and took of Lila's ring and shoved it in Jason's hand. "I'm sure Jax has my room ready and waiting." Brenda started to leave when Jason grabbed her arm. "Let go."

Jason removed his hand and lowered his voice, "Brenda, I had a long day and I don't want to argue about this right now. Can we talk about this in the morning?" Jason asked.

"You've had a long day?" Brenda asked. "What about the day I had?" Brenda glared at Jason and ran upstairs.

Carly glared at Jason while he just stood there. "Aren't you going to go after her?" Carly asked.

"No," Jason said.

Carly rolled her eyes, "Men," Carly muttered and left.

Johnny looked at Jason in confusion. "You mentioned there was a situation at Brenda's photo shoot," Johnny said. "You didn't mention she was staying here and you definitely didn't mention anything about being engaged."

Jason looked at the ring in his hand and set it on the coffee table, "She had a photo shoot and she snapped. She just lost it - not crazy lost it, but she lost it. The cameras kept rolling and the photographers kept taking pictures," Jason said. "I dropped Emily off at the hospital so she could visit Nikolas and Brenda was there with Jax. He was going to admit her to the psych ward and threatened to sue if Alan wouldn't admit her. She said she was my fiancée and I went along with it."

Johnny shook his head, "I thought I had an interesting night," Johnny said.

"Wanna trade?" Jason asked. "You take Brenda and I'll handle AJ and Dr. Jones."

Johnny looked towards his penthouse and slightly smiled, "Not on your life," Johnny said.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Brenda looked up as Jason walked downstairs, "Hey," Brenda said. "I - " Brenda paused. "I wanted to apologize for last night. I shouldn't have let Carly believe that we were engaged. I just - " Brenda sighed. "I don't know. I'm sorry."

Jason nodded and sat down across from Brenda, "It's okay," Jason said. The last thing he expected was for Brenda to apologize, but he appreciated that she did. "I - I probably - I shouldn't have yelled at you last night in front of Carly and Johnny."

"You had every right to," Brenda said. It had hurt her feelings that Jason yelled at her, but she didn't blame him. She put him in an awkward situation last night and he helped her when he didn't have to, and she repaid him by allowing one of his friends to think they were actually getting married.

"Maybe, but I'm sorry," Jason said. He waited a few moments before continuing. He really hadn't had the chance to go over all the footage last night because AJ showed up at his office, then Johnny. Even if he'd had the time, he wasn't sure if it was something he wanted to look at. "What happened last night?"

"You got the footage, right?" Brenda asked. "I'm assuming that you did because I haven't seen anything on the news or in the paper. Thank you." There was a time in her life where Jason was the best friend she had and there had been a time when they had been something more, but things changed - they changed, and then the accident happened and they weren't friends anymore. Now, Jason barely tolerated her but he was helping her when he didn't have to and she appreciated it more than he could ever know.

"I got it," Jason said.

"Well, then you know what happened," Brenda said. "I lost my temper - on film."

"I didn't look at it," Jason said. "Besides, I'm asking you."

Brenda looked at Jason for a few seconds then shook her head, "I - I really don't know what happened. We were doing a shoot - a bridal shoot and I just couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't stand up there and smile, pretending to be happy when I was a jilted bride. I asked them to stop, they wouldn't. The photographer kept telling me to smile and that they almost had what they needed and I just lost it. I - "

"It's okay," Jason said. "I was just wondering. Do you need to talk to someone or - "

"I'm not crazy," Brenda quietly said. "I know that you think - "

"You don't know what I think," Jason said. "I think you cracked under the pressure. It happens to everyone, the difference is that it happened to you while there were cameras around. You can stay here for a few weeks until Jax backs off then you'll be able to go back to your cottage."

Brenda nodded and waited a few minutes to answer, "Do you know you don't have any food around here?" Brenda asked. "I was going to make breakfast but there's nothing in your fridge. I thought you had a maid. Doesn't she cook?"

"Graciella's on vacation," Jason said. "We can go get breakfast."

* * *

"How did you sleep last night?" Johnny asked as he handed Carly a cup of juice.

"Good," Carly said. "Better than I've slept in months." For the first time in a long time, she felt at ease. She trusted Johnny completely and knew that he wouldn't allow Tony or AJ to get anywhere near her - their baby. That was going to take some getting used to, but it was something she wanted, something they both wanted.

"Does the baby always keep you up at night?" Johnny asked.

"For the past few weeks," Carly said.

"You're due in a few weeks right?" Johnny asked, mentally rearranging his schedule. He had planned to go home for the holidays but that was out of the questions because Carly wouldn't be able to travel. He still wasn't sure what he was going to tell his parents. They were going to be thrilled about the baby, but they were going to wonder why this as the first they were hearing about it and why the wedding happened so suddenly.

"23 days and counting," Carly said. She really hoped that she wouldn't go past her due date. Her obstetrician warned her that she might but she was hoping it wouldn't come to that.

"Are you happy?" Johnny asked. "About the baby?" He knew that Carly wanted the baby - that was never a question for him. But he wasn't sure if she was happy about it. The past eight months must have been really difficult for her, not knowing whether Tony or AJ was the biological father and fearing that they would take her baby from her.

Carly smiled at Johnny and reached for his hand, placing it over her stomach, "I am now," Carly said. Things would be okay now - Johnny would handle everything just like he promised.

Johnny smiled and touched Carly's face, "Good," Johnny said. "We need to get married."

"I wondered about that," Carly said. She knew that Johnny's sense of morals weren't like everyone else's. She knew that he had no problem killing anyone that messed with his loved ones but he never swore around his grandparents. She could definitely attest to the fact that he was all for pre-marital sex even though that conflicted with his religion, but knew that he would want to be married because of the baby and in a church. "Did you talk to your parents? Maybe we - "

"Tonight, Carly," Johnny said. "We need to get married tonight." Time was something that was not on their side in this matter.

"Tonight?" Carly asked. She hadn't thought it would be this soon. She thought she'd have some time to get used to the idea and hopefully have some time to get her relationship with Johnny back on track. She knew it wouldn't happen right away. They hadn't been in any sort of a relationship since they'd broken off their engagement three years ago.

"I need my name on the birth certificate," Johnny said. "If someone else gets to that DNA test before I can, we - "

"Right," Carly said, blinking back tears. "Just tell me when and I'll be ready." Carly started to stand up when Johnny placed his hand on her arm.

"Carly - Caroline, wait. I love you," Johnny said. "Us getting married - it's because I love you. The baby is part of it, but that only plays into the timing." Johnny tenderly stroked the side of Carly's face. "I love you and - "

"I love you too," Carly said. "I thought that I messed everything up with Tony and now AJ and - "

"Hey, it's okay," Johnny said and brushed the tears from Carly's face. They had both messed up a lot over the past few years and he didn't blame Carly for what happened. "I have something for you." Johnny reached in his pocket and held out a ring and slipped it on Carly's ring finger.

"This is my ring," Carly said. "You kept it?"

"Of course I kept it," Johnny said. "What was I supposed to do with it?"

"I thought you took it back or maybe sold it or - "

Johnny cut Carly off with a kiss, "No, it's yours and it belongs on that finger," Johnny said. "Forever."

* * *

"How can you eat that?" Brenda asked as she looked at Jason's plate. It was loaded with at least three breakfast meats and scrambled eggs. "Ever hear of heart disease?"

"What about that?" Jason asked and gestured to Brenda's egg-white omelet. "Ever hear of flavor?"

"My omelet has flavor," Brenda defensively said and took a bite. She reached for the pepper and shook a fair amount over her omelet. "Kinda."

Emily walked into Kelly's and smiled when she saw Jason and Brenda, "I'm so happy to see you guys," Emily said and sat down at their table.

"Em - hey," Jason said and looked at Brenda. He forgot that Emily was on break and came to Kelly's every morning to have breakfast with her friends if she wasn't in school. If he had remembered he would've taken Brenda to a different restaurant.

"I want to hear everything about the wedding," Emily said.

Brenda looked at Jason and he shrugged, "We haven't really planned anything," Brenda said. And as soon as everything died down from the photo shoot they would end their fake engagement.

"Are you thinking about a big wedding? If you're not you could get married at the mansion," Emily suggested. "In the rose garden. Grandmother would love that. Jason, I'm sure you don't really want Grandfather at the wedding but he adores Brenda and it would mean so much to him. I know that Grandmother can make him behave."

"Didn't you try to marry Jax at the mansion?" Jason asked.

Emily frowned, "Bad vibes," Emily said. That was the wedding that Sonny crashed with Jax's presumed dead first wife. "Oh! If you're thinking something small, there's this little chapel in the woods."

Brenda waited for Jason to say something, when it was clear he wasn't going to she sighed. "Em, we're really not in the planning stages," Brenda said.

"Are you two thinking of eloping?" Emily suspiciously asked. She wouldn't put it past Jason to do something like that, but she thought Brenda would want to have a larger ceremony.

"Maybe," Jason said.

"Jason!" Brenda exclaimed. If she wasn't supposed to talk about their supposed engagement, then he shouldn't be announcing an elopement that wasn't going to happen. "We are not - "

"Eloping?" Emily asked. "Why?"

"Less people," Jason said. That was true. The whole point of eloping was to get away from people, except with him he also wanted to avoid the bride.

"Jason!" Brenda exclaimed again and kicked him under the table. "We are not - "

"You're not thinking of going to Atlantic City, are you?" Emily asked.

"Vegas," Jason answered. He did need to go to Vegas sometime in the next few months to check on a new hotel of his. But he had no intentions of marrying Brenda while he was there.

"We are not going to Vegas," Brenda said. "The wedding chapels in Vegas are tacky."

"Not all of them," Emily said. "Some of them are really nice. Oh, it could be really special. Just the two of you and you could say your own vows. You'd have to get your dress here, of course."

Brenda nodded, "I'm not wearing a rented wedding dress," Brenda said. Or any wedding dress for that matter. Marriage, especially marriage with Jason, wasn't something that was in the near future.

"You don't need a wedding dress," Jason said.

"She's a bride," Emily said. "Of course she needs a wedding dress. Oh! Did you mean that she didn't need a dress because all she needs is you?" Emily sighed, "It's just so romantic! The two of you - together again."

"Again?" Jason asked.

Brenda closed her eyes and smiled at Emily, "Could you give us a minute?" Brenda asked.

Emily nodded, "I didn't mean - "

"I know, it's okay," Brenda said.

"Okay, I see Elizabeth and Lucky - so I'll catch up with you two later," Emily said. "Oh, before I forget - I saw AJ, and Jason he was looking for you. I mentioned Brenda and he said he'd call you later about that thing."

"Did he say what?" Jason asked, wondering how many people AJ had shared his story with.

"No, he said you'd know," Emily said. "Bye."

Brenda looked at Jason for a few moments, wondering what AJ had to discuss to Jason. She knew that they really hadn't gotten along since the accident, but didn't want to ask.

"What did Emily mean by together again?" Jason asked. He knew that he used to be friends with Brenda but by the way Emily said together again, it made him wonder if there was something that no one had told him.

"We used to be involved," Brenda said. "A little bit in high school and when you were in college. We broke up and we were just friends at the time of the accident. I didn't mention it to you, not because I wanted to keep it from you or anything. It's just that - " Brenda paused, not sure how to phrase this just right so that Jason would understand and not get agitated. "Everybody expected something from you based on your relationship with them as Jason Quartermaine. Your family, Keesha, Robin - everybody who knew you from before. I didn't want to be like them so - "

"Is that why you were always nice to me?" Jason asked. He always wondered why Brenda seemed so nice to him right after the accident but never pushed him to remember. He hadn't given her any reason to be nice to him, but she had tried for a while then he pushed her away like he pushed away everyone that was a part of his former life.

"Yeah," Brenda said. "At first." Because after a while, she realized that the man she once loved was gone and the man that was left wanted nothing to do with her. So when Jason argued with her, she argued back. An uncomfortable silence followed and Brenda pushed the food around on her plate. "Vegas?"

"We had to tell her something," Jason said. "Otherwise she'd have a wedding planned for next week."

"I am not marrying you," Brenda said and reached for a slice of bacon on Jason's plate. "Not next week and not ever."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"You're sure you're ready to do this?" Johnny asked as he rested his hand on Carly's lower back. He knew that Carly was okay with this but the timing was really sudden. If the thought of marrying him tonight caused her too much stress, they'd just have to leave town until the baby was born and return later. He needed his name on the birth certificate but not at the expense of her health or the baby's health.

Carly smiled at Johnny and glanced at her engagement ring before looking back at Johnny, "I've wanted to marry you since I was fifteen," Carly said. She had been friends with Johnny since they were seven years old and hadn't seen him as anything other than a friend until they were fifteen. She'd had the biggest crush on him and had wanted to marry him since the first time he kissed her.

"But earlier - "

"I know that the baby complicates - "

"Hey, listen to me," Johnny said and reached for Carly's hands. "The baby is a gift, an incredible gift. Maybe the timing's off - "

"And the paternity," Carly whispered.

Johnny kissed Carly's forehead, "Caroline, look at me," Johnny said and touched her chin. "I don't care about biology. This is my baby," Johnny said. "Okay?" Carly nodded and Johnny kissed her.

"What am I going to wear?" Carly asked.

"Wear what where?" Brenda asked as she and Jason stepped off the elevator.

"Tonight - " Carly look at Johnny and he nodded. "We're getting married tonight and we'd like both of you to be there."

"Carly - I'm flattered that you would include me, but are you sure?" Brenda asked. Last night was really the first time that she had met Carly and she'd love to go to her wedding, but Carly really didn't know her.

"Yeah, Carly," Jason said. What was Carly thinking? Johnny was supposed to talk to Carly and let her know what was actually going on with him and Brenda. "Are you sure? We're not engaged."

"I'm sure," Carly said. Brenda didn't seem as bad as she originally thought she'd be and it'd be nice to have someone at her wedding aside from Jason. "This is kind of a last minute thing and there's not enough time to explain everything to our families." Well, mainly Johnny's family because the Spencers didn't know about her.

"Carly," Jason protested, knowing exactly what Carly was doing. He had no problem going to Johnny and Carly's wedding but he really didn't want to have to bring Brenda with him. He wasn't about to let her guilt him into bringing Brenda.

"It's just that - " Carly paused and started crying and Jason sighed. "You're our friend and Brenda's probably the only other person in this town that doesn't hate me." She started crying harder. "I – "

"Fine, we'll be there," Jason said. "Just stop crying, okay?" If there was one thing that made him uncomfortable it was the sight of a crying woman, especially a pregnant crying woman.

"Thank you," Carly said.

"You just had to cry, didn't you?" Johnny asked.

"I'm pregnant," Carly said and rested her hands on her stomach. "I'm emotional. It's my wedding day. I don't have a dress – " Carly closed her eyes for a few seconds, "Johnny, what am I going to wear – "

"That's something I can help you with," Brenda offered. "I'm sure there are a few designers that didn't hear about what happened yesterday."

"Are you sure?" Carly asked. Johnny had told her about what happened yesterday and the last thing she wanted to do was put Brenda in an uncomfortable situation.

"Yeah - I love wedding dresses," Brenda said. "I just – " Brenda paused and shook her head. "I just won't be trying any on for a while."

"Okay, so I'm going to go find a dress and you'll get everything set with the Church right?" Carly asked.

"Yeah," Johnny said. "Jason – I need to talk to you before I head to Queen of Angels." If AJ hadn't been Jason's brother he would've already handled the situation. The fact that Jason didn't really consider AJ his brother didn't matter, blood was blood.

"I'll call when I'm finished." She gave Johnny a quick kiss and lowered her voice, "I love you," Carly whispered.

Johnny smiled, "Love you too – Caroline," Johnny said.

Carly smiled at Johnny again and looked at Brenda, "Ready?" Carly asked.

"Yeah, let's go find you a wedding dress," Brenda said and the pair stepped into the elevator.

"What happened?" Jason asked as soon as the elevator doors closed.

"I spoke with Tony, he agreed to back off until the baby is born," Johnny said. "As far as AJ is concerned – "

"He won't be a problem," Jason said. He hadn't had a chance to see what AJ wanted, but he had an idea.

"Jason – "

"Johnny, I don't care if he's my brother," Jason said. "He's always trying to manipulate people and work his way into my life, but he doesn't accept who I am. I'm not going to let him use Carly or this baby to win the old man's vote of confidence."

Johnny nodded, "Jason, I don't know how I can ever thank you for this," Johnny said. "Carly – she means everything to me and this baby, I know that it's not really mine, but none of that matters to me. I love her and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that no one ever touches her or that baby."

"I'll help you however I can," Jason said. "AJ – if the kid is his, he doesn't want it because he wants to be a father. He wants it because he thinks he's entitled to the kid. That's the same thing with Dr. Jones – but you – Johnny, you want this kid for all the right reasons and they don't. So, you're really going through with it?"

"Yeah," Johnny said. "I know things are moving fast." In less than twenty-four hours, he'd welcomed Carly and her baby into his home and his heart. "But, Caroline – I always knew that we'd get married someday, I just didn't expect it to be tonight."

Jason nodded, "I have a few calls to make," Jason said. "I have someone tailing Jax and I want to make sure that he keeps his distance from Brenda."

"You and Brenda," Johnny mused.

"Don't go there," Jason said. "I had to spend half the morning listening to Emily plan a wedding that's not going to happen. I told her that we were going to Vegas just to make her stop."

"You two seemed to be getting along," Johnny said.

"I don't have a choice," Jason said.

"You have a choice," Johnny said. "Same choice you had last night – you're choosing to help Brenda. But the question – " Johnny stopped when he caught the glare on Jason's face. "We'll talk about this later."

"Don't count on it," Jason said. "What about your parents? I know that Carly isn't planning to invite the Spencers, but what about your parents?"

"That's going to be a little more complicated," Johnny said. "They'll be thrilled but they're going to kill me that they weren't here."

"And the baby?" Jason asked.

"I'd rather not keep the truth from my parents – they'll understand, I know they will, but the less people that know the truth – " Johnny paused. "I'd rather not take that risk. So far, it's only you, me and Carly."

"It'll stay that way," Jason said.

* * *

"You look great," Brenda said. "That dress – it's perfect for you."

"More importantly, it fits," Carly said. It had taken most of the afternoon, but thanks to Brenda's fashion connections she had found a wedding dress that fit.

"You're really lucky," Brenda said as she handed Carly some bobby pins. "Johnny – I don't really know him that well, but from what I know, he's a decent guy. He's head over heels in love with you – and this baby. How long have you two been together?" She wanted to ask Carly what had happened with her and Tony, but it wasn't her place.

"Johnny and I – we grew up together," Carly said. "We're from the same neighborhood in Florida and we've been friends since the first day we met. We started dating when we were in high school and we were engaged and we even lived together for a while, but we were too young and we fell apart." She wasn't sure if she could pin her breakup with Johnny on a single factor, but if she had to pick one it would definitely be their age. They just had more growing up to do before they could be together. Johnny was jealous and she was insecure and it was a lethal combination. They were miserable more than they were happy and they ended things while their friendship was still in tact. "Then we got some distance from each other and we both moved to Port Charles – " Carly paused and rested her hands on her stomach. "I think you can figure out the rest."

Brenda smiled, "He was your first love?" Brenda asked.

"Yeah," Carly said. "I probably shouldn't ask but I'm going to anyways – who was yours?"

Brenda laughed, "Surprisingly, it was Jason," Brenda said. It sounded so strange to admit that to someone after all these years. Being with Jason seemed like a lifetime ago and it was, it really was a lifetime ago because the Jason she once loved was gone. "Pretty much the same story as you and Johnny – we were high school sweethearts then we graduated and things started to change. Jason was really busy with college and I was only going to placate my sister. I wanted to model and going to college was the one condition my sister had. Jason hated me modeling and we never had time for each other. We broke-up and I started dating Sonny – and Jax – " Brenda paused. "I'll spare you those details."

"But you and Jason, you two are friends – "

"Hardly," Brenda said. "I'm here because as much of a jerk that Jason is, he didn't let Jax railroad me into the psych ward. But enough about that – it's your wedding day."

"I – " Carly paused when she heard a knock on the door.

"Caroline?"

"Come in," Carly said and ran over to the door to open it. "Mikey, I'm so glad you're here."

"You didn't have to ask me twice," Mikey said and gave Carly a hug. "I know you said I couldn't ask any questions but – "

"You should talk to Johnny," Carly said. She knew what Mikey was going to ask and she couldn't blame him, but what Johnny decided to tell his family was his call. She hadn't planned on calling his brother but she knew he was in the area and that Johnny would want him at their wedding.

"Why didn't he call me?" Mike asked.

"Mikey – it's a long story and it's mostly my fault, but Johnny wants you here, I know he does. And I want you here too," Carly said.

Mike glanced at Brenda then focused on Carly, "It's his baby, right?" Mikey asked.

Carly started crying, "Yes," Carly whispered. "Your brother is my baby's father." Johnny was right, the biological father didn't matter and as far as she was concerned, Johnny was her baby's father and nothing, not even a DNA test could disprove that. "Mikey, I love Johnny – you know that. I would never – "

"Then why haven't – "

"Look, I don't know you but obviously Carly does," Brenda said. "But couldn't you two have this discussion later?"

"Caroline, look – I'm sorry for asking, but it's just that Johnny – he tells me everything or at least he did," Mike said. "I just don't – "

"Carly?" Johnny called. "Honey, are you ready?" Johnny walked into the room and smiled when saw his brother but his smile faltered when he noticed Carly was upset. He quickly walked over to Carly, "Hey, what's wrong?" Johnny reached for a tissue and started wiping her face.

Brenda glanced around the room and quietly left, shutting the door behind her.

"Caroline called me earlier," Mike said. "She asked me to show up here tonight but I couldn't ask any questions. But Johnny - "

Johnny closed his eyes for a few moments, "Thank you," Johnny whispered in Carly's ear. "It's okay. I'm glad you called him."

"Johnny, I – "

"Mikey, I'm glad you're here. You're my brother and you're important to both of us," Johnny said. "I know you're confused about what's going on. All that matters is that Carly and I are getting married tonight and that the three of us – me, Carly and the baby – are going to be a family as soon as the baby is born. I know that you have questions, but now is not the time or place for them. Things were really complicated between me and Carly for a while and we finally worked things out. If you can't be happy for us, then you're going to have to leave because I won't have my bride, my pregnant bride, upset on her wedding day."

* * *

"Hey – " Brenda quietly said as she approached Jason.

"What are you doing out here?" Jason asked. "I thought you were helping Carly."

"I was – " Brenda paused. "But Johnny's brother, Mike is here and – " Brenda shook her head. "I guess Carly called him but he's asking her all these questions and she started crying and Johnny walked in and – "

Jason nodded, "Johnny needs a few minutes to explain," Jason said. "That was nice of you – what you did for Carly earlier."

Brenda shrugged, "Just helping out," Brenda said. "Carly – she's not that bad. I don't know why Robin didn't like her."

"Let's not talk about Robin," Jason said.

"That's probably a good idea," Brenda said. She turned her head when she heard a door open and smiled when she saw Carly walking between Johnny and his brother. "Looks like it's time for a wedding."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Johnny smiled at Carly and leaned forward and kissed her, "I love you Caroline," Johnny whispered.

"I love you too," Carly said and kissed Johnny again. "I can't believe we're finally married." A year ago, she thought she'd ruined any chance she had of having a future with Johnny. Despite everything they'd said to each other, it was never over between them. The love they shared was as pure as anything she'd ever known and she'd always be grateful for sharing it with him. "You know after - "

"Believe it," Johnny said. He brushed the tears from Carly's face and kissed her. He didn't want to talk about the past, not here - not now. They both had made a lot of mistakes over the years, but none of that mattered. They were married now. Johnny smiled at Carly, oblivious to the fact that other people were in the church with them. He leaned forward and kissed Carly again. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

"I think so," Carly said and kissed Johnny.

Mikey cleared his throat and Carly turned around and gave him a sheepish smile, "Congratulations," Mikey said.

Brenda wiped the few tears from her eyes, "That was so romantic," Brenda whispered to Jason. There was nothing extraordinary about Johnny and Carly's ceremony but she could tell that each word spoken between them was heartfelt.

Jason looked at Brenda for a second then shook his head, "Johnny - Congratulations," Jason said and shook his hand. Jason turned to Carly and gave her a hug, "Happy?" He'd met Carly around the time she moved to town and he'd never once seen her this happy.

Carly smiled, "Yeah," Carly said. "You think I'm crazy right?"

"I think you're determined," Jason said. "And sometimes things don't work out for you, but you've never lost sight of what you wanted."

"I think everything's falling into place for me," Carly said. "Now you on the other hand - "

"Not you too," Jason said. "You just got married, why don't you take all that energy and focus it on that baby of yours."

Carly smiled, "I think I'll do that," Carly said.

Mikey walked over to Brenda and smiled, "You know - we weren't properly introduced earlier," Mikey said. "I'm Michael Marciano, you can call me Mike."

"Brenda Barrett," Brenda said. "You're obviously Johnny's brother and I'm - " Brenda paused, not really sure how else to introduce herself. Jason would strangle her if she told Johnny's brother they were engaged.

"The Face of Deception," Mikey said. He knew exactly who Brenda Barrett was. She made Deception a household name and had a smile that landed her on the cover of every major fashion magazine. But more importantly, she was single.

"Yes, I am," Brenda said. She didn't normally go around introducing herself as the Face, but considering the alternative, she'd take it.

"I don't know how many times I've stared at your picture - you're even more beautiful in person," Mikey said.

"Thank you," Brenda said.

"So you're friends with Caroline?" Mikey asked.

"I know Carly," Brenda said. She'd first met Carly over a year ago but had spent more time with her in the past twenty-four hours than in the past year. "Johnny too." She'd at least spent some time with Johnny. He'd been her guard during her engagement to Sonny.

"And Jason?" Mikey asked. He was pretty sure that Jason wasn't seeing anyone and if he was, he definitely wasn't seeing Brenda Barrett. If there was one thing he knew about Jason Morgan it was that the man liked to keep a low-profile and Brenda Barrett was anything but.

"Mike - hey," Jason said stepped behind Brenda. He put one hand on her shoulder and ran his hand up and down her arm a few times before resting on her hip. He looked Mikey in the eyes, holding his gaze for a few seconds, so there was no mistaking the message - Brenda was off-limits. "I see you've met Brenda."

"Jason - hey - I'm sorry," Mikey apologized and held up his hands in a mock surrender. The last thing he wanted to do was hit on Jason's girl. He'd made that mistake once before and it wasn't one he was looking to make again. "I didn't know that you and Brenda - "

Brenda bit her lower lip to keep from saying anything. Obviously, it was okay for Jason to play engaged if his ego was out of whack, "Are engaged," Brenda finished and held up her left hand.

"It's just I thought - " Mikey stammered.

Carly nudged Johnny, "Did you see that?" Carly asked.

"See what?" Johnny asked and touched Carly's face. "All I see is you."

Carly smiled, "Good - ready?" Carly asked.

Johnny nodded, "Yeah," Johnny said. He took Carly's hand and kissed it, then led her over to Brenda, Jason and his brother. "Jason - Brenda, thank you for coming. Jason - "

"Don't worry about it," Jason said.

Johnny nodded, "Mikey - it means a lot to both of us that you were here," Johnny said. Despite the circumstances, he was glad that his brother was able to be here for his wedding. "We'd appreciate if you kept quiet about this for a few days. We have to talk to Virginia and Mom and Dad."

"Of course," Mikey said. "Also mention that you swore me to silence because Mom is going to be upset that she wasn't here."

"You know - we didn't plan anything for afterwards," Carly apologized. "I guess we can go to The No-Name or order food - "

"That's okay," Mikey said. "I need to head back to the city - I fly out tomorrow morning. Why don't you two go be alone somewhere?"

"Are you sure?" Carly asked. "I - "

"As your big brother, I'm ordering you - both of you to go be alone somewhere because it looks like you two won't be alone for very long," Mikey said. He stepped forward to hug Carly, "It's about time the two of you figured this out." He looked at Johnny for a few seconds then hugged him, "And you - don't mess this up. A girl like Caroline - she's one in a million. Don't mess it up this time."

"Me?" Johnny asked. "Wait a second. The last time we broke-up - "

"Doesn't count," Carly insisted. "We agreed to disagree and decided that it was both of our faults."

"No, not that time. The other time, you know - " Johnny touched Carly's chin, "You know the time that you - "

"Still doesn't count," Carly insisted. "We weren't technically together at the time so how could we break up if we weren't together?"

"She's got you there," Mikey said. "So little brother, take care of your wife and - " Mikey shook his head and smiled, "Congratulations."

* * *

"So, do you want to explain what all that was about?" Brenda asked as soon as Mikey got into his car. Carly was too far along in her pregnancy to go on any sort of honeymoon, so they were headed back to Waterfront Hotel for the night.

"What?" Jason asked. He knew what Brenda was talking about, but he was hoping that just this once, she'd let it drop. But if there was one thing he knew about Brenda - she never let anything drop.

"All that - you put your arm around me," Brenda said and stopped in front of the limo and gestured to the door.

"And?" Jason asked and opened the door.

"And?" Brenda said as she sat down. "You had your hands all over me." Brenda smiled at Jason, forgetting that she was supposed to be getting along with Jason, not picking a fight with him. "I think you like me."

"No - " Jason protested as he sat down across from Brenda. "That's not what it was. If I remember correctly, it was your idea that we had to be engaged - in front of everybody."

"Including Johnny's brother?" Brenda asked. "Who was he going to tell? He doesn't know anyone I know."

"Can't take any chances," Jason said and poured himself a drink. Brenda was probably right. As far as he knew, Mike didn't know anyone Brenda knew and even if he did, he wouldn't say a word. But he'd seen the way that Mike had been looking at Brenda and it bothered him.

"Right," Brenda said. "I'm sure it didn't have anything to do with the fact that he was flirting with me." Brenda carefully watched Jason's face, trying to gage his reaction. However, trying to gage a reaction on the face of a man who had a poker face that rivaled all others was nearly impossible. "He was kinda cute. Looks a lot like Johnny." Brenda reached for Jason's drink and choked back a laugh as she saw Jason clench his jaw. "It's okay to admit it."

"Admit what?" Jason asked as he took his drink back from Brenda and loosened the top button on his shirt.

"That you like me - even if it's just a little," Brenda teased. "Don't worry Jason, I won't tell anyone."

"Brenda - "

"Jason - " Brenda sighed. "Look - " Brenda sighed again and kicked off her shoes and rearranged her wrap over her legs, not noticing that she had Jason's full attention. "It's just - " Brenda paused. "I know that you don't really like me and I'm disrupting your life and you're helping me and that I annoy you sometimes - "

"Sometimes?" Jason asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Brenda laughed, "Okay, most of the time - but I really appreciate everything you're doing for me," Brenda said. "Jax - " Brenda paused and shook her head, not wanting to think about what Jax had almost done to her. "He - he's not half the man you are." Brenda paused again and lowered her voice. "These past few years - I - I've never really given you any reason to stick up for me. You don't owe me anything - but - you're the only person who's never let me down." Brenda fidgeted in her seat, suddenly uncomfortable with how serious the mood had become. "But that doesn't mean that I like you or anything."

"We wouldn't want that," Jason said.

Brenda looked out the window for a few seconds before answering, "No, we wouldn't," Brenda said.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Have I told you how beautiful you look?" Johnny asked as Carly stepped out of the bathroom. Johnny stood up so he could help Carly sit down.

Carly laughed, "Only a dozen times," Carly said. One of the things she loved the most about Johnny was that he was so honest about his feelings. So many men saw it as a weakness to put themselves out there like that - but not Johnny.

"How are you feeling?" Johnny asked. It'd been a long day for both of them, but he knew that it had been an even longer one for Carly. All he'd had to do was show up at the church. She'd spent most of the day with Brenda, and that was an exhausting task in and of itself.

Carly smiled and rested her head on Johnny's shoulder, "Like I'm walking on a cloud," Carly said. She finally felt like that dark cloud that had been hanging over her for the past few months had disappeared. She felt freer than she had in months. She was finally free to enjoy her life - the life she was building with Johnny and her baby, correction - their baby.

"Same here," Johnny said.

Carly leaned closer for a kiss, "I love you," Carly whispered. "Johnny, I want you to know how much I love you."

Johnny smiled, "I do, Carly," Johnny said. "I do." Carly didn't have to say a word, he knew what she was thinking and feeling just by looking into her eyes. Anyone who didn't know her - them - would think that she was playing him. But she wasn't. He knew how it must look to everyone else, but he didn't care. Everyone else didn't know Carly the way that he did. Aside from his family, once everyone found out that they were married - they would think she was manipulating him. But that wasn't true. He wanted this just as much as she did, and not for the reasons that everyone would think.

"Do you?" Carly asked. "Do you have any idea how much you mean to me? Even when I did everything I could do to push you away, you were always there for me. And now - " Carly paused and shook her head. "And now, with everything that's happened in the past year. We were about to get back together and I got that idea stuck in my head about destroying Bobbie's life. You were right. I should've listened to you." Johnny lightly stroked Carly's cheek as he waited for her to continue. "But I didn't and when my life was crashing in all around me, you were still there for me. And when I thought I had nowhere left to turn - there you were." When she'd shown up at Harborview last night, she'd been looking for Jason to have him help her get AJ and hopefully Tony off her back. Under normal circumstances, she would've turned to Johnny, but these circumstances were anything but normal. It didn't seem fair to ask him to clean up the mess she'd made of her life, but instead of finding Jason last night - she found Johnny. And as usual, Johnny was there for her in every way that mattered.

Johnny kissed Carly's forehead, "I made you a promise once," Johnny said. "That I'd always be there for you no matter what. And that's a promise I intend to keep. Not because of obligation, but because I love you Carly - I always have. And as many times that I've been there for you, you've been there for me." When he'd been struggling with his decision to start working for his cousin, he'd talked it over with Carly. When he made the decision to pick up a gun - again, he'd talked it over with her. The first time he'd killed someone, he'd been eighteen and it had affected him more than he thought it would - he'd showed up on her doorstep. She'd taken one look at him, touched his face and told him that she loved him. "I love you." When they'd broken off their engagement, he'd tried to forget about Carly - to move on with his life, but he couldn't - he loved her. "You know, I don't know how many times I've imagined this moment."

"What moment?" Carly asked as she closed her eyes.

"This moment right here," Johnny said. "You in my arms - on our wedding night."

Carly laughed, "About that - " Carly laughed again. "I imagined it too - I just didn't imagine I'd be over eight months pregnant."

"Me either," Johnny said. "How long do we have to wait until after the baby's born?"

"Six weeks," Carly said. "Six weeks."

"Plus the three until the baby's born," Johnny said. "Nine weeks."

"Think you'll be able - "

"Me?" Johnny asked. "Carly - honey, I'm worried about you. I can go nine weeks. What about the time you got mad at me and cut me off? Three months? Separate bedrooms for three months? And if I remember correctly, it was you who came knocking on my bedroom door one night wearing - "

"Okay, okay," Carly said. "I remember. Do you have to go mentioning something that I can't even dream into fitting into right now?"

"Nine weeks," Johnny said. "You're the doctor said six weeks? You're sure it wasn't five or maybe four?"

* * *

Brenda laughed, "Come on Jason," Brenda said. "Stop acting like a baby. So there's a little marinara sauce on your suit." Instead of heading back to the penthouse, she'd talked Jason into heading to The No-Name for dinner. They'd actually had a decent time, thanks to the bottles of wine that kept magically appearing at their table - until a waiter bumped into them on the way out the door and a plate of cold spaghetti met Jason's chest.

"You wouldn't be acting this way if it was spaghetti all over your dress," Jason said.

"There's a difference," Brenda said. "My dress - is a one of a kind. Your suit - although impeccably tailored, it's off the rack. Replaceable. Besides, the No-Name offered to pay to have it cleaned."

"That's not the point," Jason said. "The point is - " Jason stopped talking when the elevator doors opened to reveal Jax. Brenda nervously glanced at Jax and stepped closer to Jason, linking her arm through his. "What are you doing here?"

"You really should do something about the security in this building," Jax said.

"What are you doing here?" Jason asked again. He'd pulled the guards from Harborview and had them posted at the Queen of Angels in case AJ or Tony found out about the wedding. He knew Brenda would be with him for most of the night and didn't have to worry about Jax approaching her alone, but he didn't think that Jax would actually show up here.

"I'm here to take Brenda home," Jax said and held out his hand. His jaw tightened when Jason put his arm around Brenda.

"No, you're not," Jason said. "You're not getting anywhere near her."

Jax ignored Jason and turned to Brenda, "Sweetheart, I know you're upset with me - about the incident - "

"Incident?" Brenda asked. "Incident? You tried to have me committed!" She'd always known that Jax was arrogant but the fact that he was trying to minimize his actions was beyond belief.

"Brenda, it was for your own protection. If the media got a hold of that footage - I didn't want them to be able to use it against you. I've been spending all day trying to get a hold of the footage. I don't want - "

"You don't want what?" Jason asked. "The footage to air? Because that's not what I heard. The tapes you've been trying to get - I own them." He hadn't had time to figure out why Jax wanted the tapes, if he was going to try to use them to prove himself to Brenda or if he was going to try to use them against her if she didn't go back to him. Either way it didn't matter, because he owned the tapes - not Jax.

"Brenda, you don't honestly believe - "

"Jason doesn't lie to me," Brenda said. Or to anyone else for that matter. It wasn't so much that he was lying now, that he was omitting a few things. Mainly, the fact that they could barely stand each other. Oh, and that they weren't actually engaged.

Jax sighed, "Brenda, look - I know you're mad and that you're upset - "

"Upset?" Brenda asked. "I trusted you! And you tried to take advantage of that trust! You know I thought Sonny - I thought he was - "

"Don't put me in the same category as Corinthos," Jax said.

Brenda shook her head, "You're in a category all by yourself," Brenda said.

Jax started to step closer when Jason pushed him back, "When you're finished playing house with your latest - lap dog, I won't be waiting," Jax said.

Brenda flashed her ring finger at Jax, "I'm not playing house," Brenda said. "I'm engaged. Jason and I are going to get married. Do you see this ring?"

"That ring could be from anywhere," Jax said. "For all I know, it's a prop."

Brenda shook her head, "Don't think so," Brenda said. "It's been in Jason's family for years. I'd say that it qualifies as a family heirloom. Wouldn't you - " Brenda paused and stopped herself before she called Jason honey. She knew she could only push Jason so far and calling him honey would only serve one purpose - annoying him. And right now, Jason was the only ally she had and she couldn't afford to piss him off. " - say so Jason?"

"You're lying," Jax said.

"You don't believe her?" Jason asked. "Do you want to call my grandmother and ask her?"

Brenda smiled at Jason and touched his face, then glared at Jax, "I told you once that Jason and I used to be close. Lila thought it would be appropriate if this ring symbolized our union. I've always thought of Lila as my grandmother and she wanted me to have this ring." At least part of what she said was true. Lila had given her that ring because she wanted Brenda to have it, but not because it symbolized any sort of relationship with Jason.

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Jax asked. "After all the lies you've told - "

"You've got five seconds to leave this building before I throw you out," Jason said. He nodded to the guard and they took a step closer to Jax.

"You don't want to mess with me Morgan," Jax said.

"And why's that?" Brenda asked. "You don't honestly think that Jason's scared of you, do you? What could you possibly do to him? Try to raid Corinthos-Morgan? Last time I checked, Jason and Sonny each own forty percent and Johnny owns the other twenty. It'll be a cold day in hell before you get your hands on any of that stock. So what are you going to do Jax? There's nothing you can do. But if I was you - " Brenda smiled. "And thankfully I'm not." Brenda smiled again. "If I was you, I'd watch my back. Jason really doesn't like empty threats. And in case you haven't noticed, Jason doesn't make empty threats. And for the record - Jason's not a lap dog. He's in charge. He owns this town and if he wants to - " Brenda smiled again. "He can destroy you. So, if you cared anything about your life, your company - " Brenda paused. " - your bank account - I strongly suggest that you keep your distance."

"You little bed hopping - "

Jason pushed Jax against the wall, "Watch what you say about Brenda," Jason said. Jax had been annoying him ever since he could remember and he was looking for any opportunity to put him in this place. And his current arrangement with Brenda provided him the perfect opportunity and excuse.

"Jason, he's not worth it," Brenda quietly said and touched Jason's arm. She knew that the first thing Jax would do, would be to run down to the PCPD and file assault charges. She had already disrupted his life enough in the past twenty-four hours, she really didn't want to have to add assault charges to the list.

Jason took a deep breath and stepped away from Jax, hitting the call button for the elevator. As soon as the doors opened, he shoved Jax inside. "Get out of here," Jason said.

As soon as the doors closed, Brenda groaned. "I hate him!" Brenda said. "First he tries to commit me, then he comes here to what? To make me feel guilty? If he's expecting an apology for my behavior, he's not going to get one."

"You don't owe him one," Jason said and opened the penthouse.

"You're right - I don't," Brenda said. "And starting right now - I'm through with Jasper Jacks. As a matter of fact, I'm through with men." Brenda threw her wrap on the chair and kicked off her shoes and ran upstairs.

Jason picked her wrap up off the floor and ran his thumb over the material for a few seconds, then shook his head and set it on the couch. He unbuttoned his coat and looked at his suit and groaned. It wasn't that he cared about the suit. He could buy a warehouse full of suits. He just didn't want to have to stand there while someone measured him and poked him with needles.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Good - you're still here," Brenda said as she walked downstairs. She had thought she heard the door and she wanted to make sure that she talked to Jason before he left for the evening.

"I live here," Jason said and went back to his paperwork. He was still getting used to the fact that he was living with Brenda. But that didn't really matter too much, because she'd be moving back to her cottage in about a week or so - and it couldn't happen soon enough.

"I know - but - " Brenda paused. "Just don't make any plans for dinner the day after tomorrow."

"It's Christmas," Jason said.

"I know it's Christmas," Brenda said. It sounded better when she said the day after tomorrow, it downplayed the fact that she was talking about Christmas. "And we're having dinner. Here - together." She and Jason had been living together almost civilly for the past few weeks, mostly because she was gone during the day and he was gone in the evening and didn't usually come home until after she went to bed.

Jason shook his head, "No - no, we never talked about having Christmas dinner together," Jason said. It was bad enough that Brenda had been staying with him for the past few weeks, now he had to have Christmas dinner with her? "Can't you have dinner somewhere else?" Granted, he had either lunch or dinner with Brenda nearly every day - usually in public - but he didn't want to have to spend the holiday with her too.

"Where?" Brenda asked. "With Jax? The only other invitation I received was from your family!" Monica had called the penthouse earlier to invite both of them over for dinner, and she had politely turned her down. "Your mother called, I could've accepted her dinner invitation, for both of us - but I didn't." As much as she loved the Quartermaines she really didn't want to spend Christmas with them anymore than Jason did. Every time she ran into one of them, they were pressing her for details about her engagement to Jason. Aside from Jax, no one really questioned the validity of their engagement. Aside from the fact that she'd blurted it out when Jax had been trying to commit her, it was a well known fact that she and Jason didn't get along - and the Quartermaines knew that. But for whatever reason, they didn't seem to care. All they seemed interested in was a wedding that wasn't going to take place. And while it had been fun at first, torturing Jason with details, it was getting harder and harder to keep up this lie. But one thing she couldn't understand was why Lila hadn't said that she'd given the ring to Brenda as a gift a few years ago and that Jason had nothing to do with it.

"Fine!" Jason said. If having dinner here - alone - with Brenda, meant he didn't have to make excuses about not spending Christmas with the Quatermaines he'd do it. "Just don't order a turkey." Come to think of it, he hadn't really thought about what he was going to do for the holiday. To him, it was just another day.

"Turkey?" Brenda asked. "No one eats turkey on Christmas. People eat ham - turkey is Thanksgiving, ham is Christmas." Sometimes people ate ham on Easter, but people almost always ate ham on Christmas.

"Then order a ham," Jason said.

"You know, I don't really like ham," Brenda said. She didn't really like ham all that much. It was too pink for her. If she was going to eat meat, she wanted it to look cooked. "How do you feel about a rib roast or lamb? Do you like lamb?"

"Brenda - I don't care," Jason said. "Order a pizza, order a gourmet dinner or takeout - just order something that isn't turkey." He didn't care what they ate for dinner. As long as it tasted good, he'd eat it.

"Okay," Brenda said. She made a mental note that Jason had an illogical aversion for turkey and wouldn't order one. "I'll do that." She gestured to the box on the coffee table, "Can you hand me that?"

"What is it?" Jason asked as he handed the box to Brenda.

"I ordered it for Carly's baby," Brenda said and opened the box. She pulled out a mobile, "I saw it in a catalog. Isn't it cute?"

Jason looked at Brenda strangely, "It's a bunch of stuffed animals connected by wires," Jason said.

"I know, it's a mobile," Brenda said. She spun it around a few times and placed it back in the box. "I'm sure Carly and Johnny already have everything ready, but I just saw this and couldn't resist."

* * *

Johnny handed Carly a glass of juice, "You're not still hung up on Savannah are you?" Johnny asked as he sat down next to her. "What about Sebastian?"

"No, I gave up on that name years ago - Marcella too," Carly said. She couldn't believe that Johnny still remembered all the names she wanted to name their baby. It had been years since they'd sat around and dreamt about their future, but here they were - married and pregnant.

"Good, because I would have to rethink this whole marriage thing if you named my daughter Marcella Marciano," Johnny said.

"You know, I'm not sure if it's gonna be a boy or a girl," Carly said. Dr. Meadows had asked her if she wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl and she told her she didn't want to know. "Come to think of it - these past few weeks - " Carly paused and smiled. "Johnny, these past few weeks are really the only time that I've had to think about the baby. I mean - I know, I was pregnant and I went to the doctor and did everything that Dr. Meadows told me to do, but this is the first time that I've had to stop and think about the baby as a real person. That makes me sound horrible, doesn't it?"

"No," Johnny said. "You've had a lot to worry about over the past eight months and you did it all on your own. But, you're not alone anymore. Carly, you've got me and we're gonna make this work."

"I hope so," Carly whispered. "I don't know how you got both AJ and Tony to back off." The past few weeks had been surprisingly quiet. For the first few days after the wedding, she'd been expecting Tony and AJ to beat down the penthouse door with court orders but they hadn't shown up once.

"Jason took care of AJ," Johnny said. He wasn't entirely sure what Jason had on AJ, but obviously it was something that AJ didn't want anybody to know about. "And as for Tony - there's a few things about his past that he doesn't want to get out. The types of things that would just ruin his career."

Carly sighed, "Johnny, I'm grateful that you were able to get them to back off, but they're both going to demand a paternity test as soon as the baby is born. What - "

"I'm already handling it," Johnny assured her. He'd already paid a sizable bonus to a few of the lab techs and they both guaranteed him that the paternity test would confirm him as the father. "You don't have to worry about it, okay?"

"Johnny, I don't know how I'll - "

"Don't Carly," Johnny interrupted. "You're giving me everything I always wanted and that's more than enough thanks."

Carly smiled and kissed Johnny, then reluctantly pulled away, "I wish we could take things further," Carly said.

Johnny took a deep breath, "Me too - okay, did you invite Jason over for dinner tomorrow?" Johnny asked.

"I was planning to, but Brenda said she was ordering dinner. She invited us over, but I told her we wouldn't want to impose," Carly said. She still hadn't figured out what was going on between Jason and Brenda. She knew that their engagement was a lie, something to do with keeping Brenda out of the psych ward, but from what she could tell no one was trying to commit her. She hadn't seen anything in the papers about this alleged photo shoot incident, but there was a strong possibility that had a lot to do with Jason. She'd been watching the two of them pretty carefully and they weren't as hostile towards each other as they were that first night. In fact, if she didn't know better - she'd say there was something going on between them.

"Good, the last thing I want is to have my first Christmas with my wife ruined by those two arguing," Johnny said.

"I like Brenda," Carly said. She didn't think she'd like Brenda, but surprisingly the two of them actually got along. She really appreciated how Brenda had helped her find a wedding dress and that she hadn't

"Carly - "

"What?" Carly asked.

"Caroline - "

"I love it when you say my name like that - Caroline. Caroline Marciano," Carly said. She loved that Johnny was really the only person that called her Caroline. Everyone she knew called her Carly. It used to be that he was the only one that called her Carly, but now he was the only one that called her Caroline.

"Stop distracting me," Johnny said.

"Me?" Carly asked. "You're the one distracting me. You're the one saying my name all seductively."

Carly glanced at the door then at Johnny, "Do you want me to get the door?" Carly asked.

Johnny wiped his hands on his jeans, "No - you just stay there," Johnny said. "You're supposed to be resting."

"You don't suppose - that Jason and Brenda changed their mind about dinner?" Carly asked. She'd really been looking forward to spending Christmas with just Johnny.

"I saw the delivery guy here earlier," Johnny said. "It's just us for dinner." He turned towards the door. "Just a second." Johnny quickly kissed Carly and answered the door. "Mom! Dad! I - " Johnny paused. "We - " He'd told his parents that he'd be spending the holiday with Carly, but hadn't really mentioned why. They both figured that it would be best to tell them about the baby and their marriage after the holiday. He never would've guessed that his parents would show up on his doorstep. "We weren't expecting anyone."

Carly closed her eyes for a few minutes, praying that when she opened them Jason would be standing at the door. She loved Johnny's parents, but the discussion that was sure to follow wasn't something she wanted to talk about tonight. Carly opened her eyes, "Hi," Carly said.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Caroline!" Teresa exclaimed as she pushed past Johnny. "You're - "

"Pregnant," Carly said and offered a small smile. This definitely wasn't how they planned on having Johnny's parents find out about the baby. Regardless of when they did it, it was going to be a bombshell but telling them like this hadn't been the plan.

Johnny said a silent prayer and walked over to Carly and helped her up, "Mom - Dad, we have some news," Johnny said. He'd been planning to invite his parents up at the end of the week, so he could tell them in person. But they were here now and he had no choice but to tell them now. Johnny kissed Carly's cheek and stood behind her, resting his hands on her stomach. "Caroline and I, we're married and about to have a baby."

* * *

Jason poured himself another glass of wine, "Dinner was really nice," Jason said. He'd been surprised at how good dinner actually was. He'd expected Brenda to order some fancy dinner and he wouldn't be able to identify half the food, but she'd done just the opposite. She still ordered a gourmet dinner but everything was identifiable. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Brenda said and took a sip of wine. She knew that Jason didn't have a problem with good food, but that he hated excess so she a ordered straightforward meal instead of a bunch of food that he would hate. It was the least she could do, she'd literally come crashing into his life and had practically forced him to spend the holiday with her. Her life had been a roller coaster over the past few months and strangely the past few weeks that she'd spent here had offered her a calmness she hadn't felt in a long time. Brenda pushed the rest of her food around on her plate, she wasn't really hungry anymore. She had just enough room in her stomach to enjoy dessert. "Dessert! I left the mousse in my car. It's probably frozen."

"I'll send someone to go get it," Jason said.

"I'll go," Brenda said. "On the off chance it's not completely frozen, I don't want your guys to jostle it around."

"It's a dessert," Jason said.

Brenda rolled her eyes, "It's not just a dessert. It's a raspberry chocolate mousse and it's molded and garnished and - "

"Okay," Jason said.

Brenda tossed her napkin on the table, "I'll be right back," Brenda said and stood up. She grabbed her coat and keys and left.

Jason watched Brenda leave and started clearing the table. The food at dinner was excellent, and if there was one thing he'd learned about Brenda over the past few weeks was that while she may not know her way around the kitchen she definitely knew how to order take-out. He was surprised that she had such a healthy appetite for a model, she watched what she ate but he'd seen her eat enough fried foods to know she wasn't on a carrots only diet. But by the way she ate tonight, he wasn't sure how she kept her figure because from what he could tell, there wasn't any extra fat on her body - and it wasn't like she was skin and bones either. Brenda definitely had curves in all the right places. Jason shook his head, he'd definitely had too much wine tonight. He normally didn't drink wine, maybe a glass or two, but tonight the two of them had polished of nearly two bottles. Jason finished loading the dishes in the dishwasher and grabbed the open bottle of wine from the table. He debated pouring another glass, but decided he'd had enough wine for the evening and set the bottle on the kitchen counter. Brenda could have another glass if she wanted one but he'd had enough wine.

"Jason," Rey called as he entered the penthouse.

Jason sprinted to the living room, not sure what to expect but he definitely didn't expect to see Rey carrying Brenda.

"Will you please put me down?" Brenda asked.

"What happened?" Jason asked and motioned for Rey to set Brenda on the couch.

"There was some ice in the parking structure - I slipped," Brenda explained.

"She took a pretty bad spill," Rey said. "You might want to run her by the hospital, something could be broken."

"Rey - thanks for bringing me up here, I don't think I could've walked up here on this ankle, but I'm fine," Brenda insisted. She definitely didn't want to spend Christmas in the emergency room. With her luck, she'd run into Jax and he'd try to convince some unsuspecting nurse to commit her to the psych ward while Jason went for coffee.

"Yeah, thanks," Jason said and knelt on the floor next to the sofa. Rey nodded and left the two of them alone. Jason carefully took off Brenda's stiletto heel, "Sure these were made for winter?"

"As long as you're inside, you're fine," Brenda said and slipped off her coat.

"Does this hurt?" Jason asked as he gently ran his thumbs over her ankle.

"Aren't you a little old to play doctor?" Brenda asked. She winced as Jason applied pressure. "Jason - that hurts." Jason looked up at her and Brenda quickly averted her eyes, uncomfortable by the intimacy of the situation. Jason hadn't touched her like this since before the accident.

_"Ow, Jase - that hurts," Brenda said as Jason set her down on the bench._

_"Just had to try to show off," Jason teased as he knelt in front of Brenda. "Let's see what we have here." Jason gently unlaced Brenda's ice skate and smiled up at her apologetically when she cringed from the pain. "Sorry Sweetheart."_

_"It's not your fault," Brenda said. "You're right, I was trying to show off."_

_Jason tenderly held Brenda's ankle and applied gentle pressure, "Does this hurt?" Jason asked._

_"Yes," Brenda said. "It's not broken is it?"_

_"No," Jason said. "Just a sprain. A few days of bed rest and you'll be good as new."_

_"Bed rest?" Brenda asked. "What if I promise to stay in bed? Do we - I mean, I have to rest?"_

_"Bren," Jason said as he took off Brenda's other skate and tossed both over his shoulder before picking her up._

_Brenda smiled at Jason and kissed him, "If it's doctor's orders for me to stay in bed, I think you should work on your bedside manner and at least join me."_

"Do you want to go to the hospital?" Jason asked and took off Brenda's other shoe. He looked at the heel for a few seconds then shook his head. He'd never understand the appeal of shoes like that.

"No," Brenda said.

"Nothing's broken," Jason said. "It's just a sprain. I'll get a bandage and wrap it for you and get you an ice pack to help with the swelling. It should be fine in about a week. You'll have a pretty nasty bruise - "

"Don't say that," Brenda said. "I have an audition next week for a swimsuit campaign. I can't have a bruise."

Jason wondered if Brenda should be thinking about modeling so soon considering what happened last time, but it wasn't his place to say anything. "Do you want something for the pain?" Jason asked. "I can get you some aspirin or if you need something stronger - "

"Aspirin's fine," Brenda hurriedly said. It had taken her awhile to overcome her addiction to painkillers and she wasn't about to throw that all away for something as insignificant as an ankle sprain.

Jason nodded, "Okay," Jason said. "Aspirin it is." Jason stood up and headed to the kitchen.

* * *

"She hates me," Carly cried as she sat down on the bed. "Your mother hates me." She loved Johnny's mother like she was her own and before tonight she'd never seen her look at her like that before. Both of his parents placed such a strong emphasis on family and they really weren't looking at their situation too favorably. "Johnny - "

"Hey," Johnny said and brushed the tears from Carly's face. "She doesn't hate you. My mom loves you, both my parents love you. They're just a little shocked and they feel left out." He knew his parents would come around, they loved Carly. It's just that all of this came as such a shock to them. They had a lot of questions, they had no idea he was back together with Carly, much less married and about to have a baby.

"They're disappointed," Carly said. "They're disappointed that I got pregnant before we got married. Johnny, you have to promise me that you won't tell them the truth." She'd already seen the disappointed look in their eyes and she didn't want to disappoint them further by telling them that this wasn't really Johnny's baby. "I know it's selfish, but you have to promise me - "

"You're my wife," Johnny said. "And your best interests are my best interests, it's not selfish, Carly. It's what we need to do." He trusted his family, he knew they wouldn't say anything to anybody and that they'd love the baby regardless of biology, that wasn't the issue. There was always the chance that someone would say something they shouldn't and he couldn't take that risk. No one could know he wasn't the biological father, he promised Carly that no one would take her baby away and it was a promise he was going to keep even if it meant lying to his parents. He loved them, but he couldn't gamble with their baby like that - he wouldn't. "They just need some time."

"Time?" Carly asked. "Johnny we don't have any time. I'm almost due and I wanted - I wanted - " Carly started crying again and Johnny pulled her closer in a hug. "I just wanted us to have the perfect Christmas. This is our first Christmas together, our first real Christmas and I just wanted to have a nice quiet dinner and exchange gifts."

"You know what?" Johnny asked. "So we'll have dinner tomorrow, just the two of us. We'll order in and - " Johnny closed his eyes when he heard a knock on the door.

"Johnny? Caroline?" Teresa asked. "Is it okay if we talk to you - "

Johnny kissed Carly, "Honey, it's gonna be okay," Johnny whispered. He stood up and opened the door. "Dad - Mom, I know this is a shock for the both of you, but if you're gonna argue or lecture - I'd rather wait until tomorrow."

Carly closed her eyes for a few seconds and shook her head, "Johnny," Carly said as she stood up. "Don't." Johnny had already put himself out on a limb for her but she didn't want him to push his parents away. Whatever they had to say, whether or not she wanted to hear it, she owed it to Johnny to listen to them.

"Carly, we don't have to do this tonight," Johnny said. "It's getting late, you haven't eaten yet and - "

"Son, we're not here to argue with you," Johnny's father, James said. "Your mother and I - we love you, both of you. Caroline, come here for a second." Carly glanced at Johnny for a second then walked over to James. "Teresa and I, we have four sons. We were never blessed with a daughter." He smiled at Carly and touched her chin, "We have that now, we just don't understand what all the secrecy is about."

Johnny stood behind Carly and kissed the top of her head, "Dad - Mom, we weren't deliberately trying to keep things from you," Johnny said. "We got back together and we broke up again - the reasons don't really matter. A few months later, Carly found out she was pregnant. But just because we were having a baby didn't mean that things were fixed between us. It took us a little while to find our way back to each other and we finally sorted things out. We got married a few weeks ago."

"In a church," Carly added.

Teresa sighed, "Jonathan - Caroline, we love both of you. We just don't understand why you couldn't tell us," Teresa said. "When were you going to tell us?"

"In a few days," Johnny said. "Mom, Carly and I - we needed to make our own decisions on what we were going to do about us."

"Teresa - James, I love your son," Carly sincerely said. "He's my best friend and now he's my husband. We got a little off track the past few years, but we're married and we're starting a family."

"Caroline, I know that you and Johnny love each other," Teresa said. "We've never doubted that. And I know you'll make him happy. I've never seen my son happier than when he's with you."

"Mom - "

"You know, I don't think your mother and I will ever understand why you felt the need to keep this from us," James said. "But Son, we're happy for you. We're happy for both of you. Congratulations."

* * *

"Do you need help getting upstairs?" Jason asked. Brenda hadn't moved from the couch once since she'd fallen. He'd sent Rey downstairs to have the building manager have someone get rid of the ice near Brenda's car and to bring up the mousse that Brenda insisted they had to eat.

"If you could help me stand - "

"No problem," Jason said. Brenda put all her weight on her right foot and Jason pulled her up. As soon as Brenda put some weight on her left foot, she grimaced in pain and fell back onto the sofa.

"Great, just great," Brenda muttered.

"Come on," Jason said. He grabbed Brenda's shoes from the floor and effortlessly picked her up.

"Jason, put me down," Brenda insisted. "I can walk."

"Brenda, your ankle is swollen. It hurts if you put any weight on it. You haven't tried to walk on it since you fell and you won't take anything stronger than aspirin. Don't make it worse by trying to pretend it's fine when it's not. You really need to take it easy the next few days."

"Fine," Brenda said and motioned upstairs. Jason started walking upstairs and turned when he heard the door open.

"Jason - hey, do - " Johnny paused at the scene in front of him. "You know what - I'll check in with you tomorrow and you two can get back to whatever it was you were doing."

"Nothing's going on," Brenda and Jason simultaneously said.

"You don't have to explain," Johnny said. "I'll - "

"Brenda twisted her ankle," Jason quickly said.

"I can't walk on it," Brenda hurriedly explained.

"I'll be right back," Jason said and carried Brenda upstairs.

Johnny grabbed a magazine and started thumbing through it while he waited for Jason to come back downstairs. He hadn't thought to knock just now because he never would've imagined that he'd interrupt anything more than an argument. He made a mental note to knock the next time he came over. He believed Jason that Brenda sprained her ankle, but he wasn't so sure that he hadn't interrupted something.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Are you feeling alright?" Johnny asked as he sat down next to Carly. "You look a little pale." Johnny pushed Carly's hair aside and placed his hand on her forehead, "You're not warm. Maybe I - "

"It's December. I haven't seen the sun in weeks," Carly said and reached for the glass of water in Johnny's hand. Carly closed her eyes for a few seconds and placed her hand over her stomach, "Okay, little one - settle down." The baby had been really active today. Normally, she loved it when the baby was this active but the past few days she'd been so tired and all she wanted to do was rest. With the exception of Johnny's parents suddenly visiting, the past week had been stress free. She didn't have to worry about Tony and AJ, and everything had worked out between her and Johnny. But the most surprising thing about the past few weeks had been Brenda. She'd expected Johnny and to some degree Jason helping her. Over the years, she'd always had Johnny to turn to. He was her best friend, they'd been friends for years. And when she moved to Port Charles, she met Jason and the two of them became pretty close. Something she hadn't expected was finding a friend in Brenda. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't have spent any time with Brenda, but they had both stayed pretty close to the penthouse since that night. She found it so hard to trust other women and while Brenda didn't know the whole story about the baby, she'd been nonjudgmental about what she did know.

"Something wrong?" Johnny asked and placed his hands over Carly's. He was amazed at how much he already loved this baby. It hadn't even been two weeks yet, but the moment Carly agreed to let him be the father, he became the father. He knew that even if that hadn't happened, he still would've cared about Carly and the baby. But this was something different, this was more intense - more real, this was his family.

"We're fine," Carly said. "Just a twinge."

"Are you sure?" Johnny asked.

"Positive," Carly said. She took a few deep breaths and let out a sigh of relief when the baby settled down, "See, we're fine."

"You'd say something right?" Johnny asked. He knew that Carly hated going to the doctor's office, saying she avoided it was an understatement. But he also knew that she'd never do anything that jeopardized the baby's health. "You do look a little pale though."

"Johnny, I'm pregnant. I'm tired, my feet hurt, I can't sleep on my stomach and I can't drink coffee. My ankles are swollen and I don't remember the last time I got to wear the shoes I wanted to wear, not the mention what I wanted to wear - "

"Okay, okay," Johnny said. Carly had a rough time over the past few months and he was going to everything he could to make the next few weeks go as smoothly as possible, starting with today. "So Mrs. Marciano, do you have plans for today?"

"Not really," Carly said. "I was thinking of picking up a few things for the baby, but I'm kind of tired." Even just the thought of facing the post-holiday crowds at the mall made her tired.

Johnny nodded, "Okay, my parents left last night and I finally have you all to myself," Johnny said. His parents had stayed a few days and it had taken a lot of convincing to get them to leave when they did. His mother had wanted to stay until the baby was born, but the last thing he wanted was his parents in the hospital when the baby was born. He did not want them running into Tony or AJ at the hospital.

"Eight weeks," Carly reminded him. "I thought you were going to the warehouse."

"Seven and a half," Johnny said. "But who's counting? I don't need to go to the warehouse, Jason can go the warehouse. I thought I'd stay home with you today. Technically, we're still newlyweds - "

"And technically, we'll be newlyweds for eight more weeks," Carly said.

"You're sure it's eight?" Johnny asked. "Anyway, I was thinking that we could spend the day together. Just the two of us. When's the last time that happened?"

"It's been a long time," Carly said. She and Johnny had been inseparable since the night he found her outside Jason's door but it had been a long time since they'd spent the day together, just the two of them.

"So I'm going to draw you a bath - "

"I'm not going to fit in that tub," Carly protested.

"Like I said, I'm going to draw you a bath and give a foot massage - "

"Skip the bath, go straight to the foot massage," Carly said. "That sounds heavenly."

"We'll have a light lunch - "

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Carly asked. "I've only gained twenty-nine - "

"Not at all honey," Johnny quickly said. If there was one thing he had learned during Carly's pregnancy was that a pregnant woman was not fat, especially if that pregnant woman was your wife. Regardless of how much weight a woman gained, she was not fat. "I'm suggesting a light lunch because we're going to watch a movie or two - with snacks. Then maybe a nap and we'll order in dinner."

Carly smiled, "You're so good to me," Carly said. "Sometimes I wake-up in the middle of the night and I'm in your arms and I wonder if I'm dreaming. Over the past year, I've given you every reason to give up on me and you never did. You've always been there for me when I needed you the most, especially now."

"I love you," Johnny said. "I always have. I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't care about you or when you didn't matter to me. Even when I couldn't look at you - or when you couldn't be in a room with me for more than five seconds without yelling at me, I knew - Carly, I knew that if I ever needed you, you'd be there for me, just like you always have been."

* * *

"How's that ankle?" Jason asked as he motioned to Brenda's foot, which was propped up on a pillow.

"Do you want to sit down?" Brenda asked and set down her book. She started to move over to make some room on the couch for Jason when he stopped her.

"Don't move," Jason said and sat across from Brenda on the coffee table.

"It's still a little sore," Brenda said. "It's not swollen anymore. I can walk on it, but it hurts a little bit." The morning after she fell, she could barely move. It had taken her at least fifteen minutes to get out of bed and about another twenty to make it to and from the bathroom. She knew that Jason would've helped her, but she didn't want to be that dependent on him. She was still a little annoyed at the fact that he carried her upstairs last night. She probably could've walked upstairs with some help, but he had to go macho and carry her. "It's manageable."

"Do you need anything?" Jason asked. He wished Brenda wasn't so stubborn and just admit that she needed help. He'd been watching her struggle as she slowly and painfully made her way around the penthouse the past few days, but he did have to admire her determination. He knew her ankle was killing her but she adamantly refused to take anything stronger than aspirin. A weaker person would've insisted on taking something stronger, but that wasn't Brenda.

"No," Brenda said. The weather wasn't that great outside and she didn't actually need to go anywhere. She knew that the more she stayed off her feet, the quicker she'd be back to normal. And as soon as Jason was satisfied that her ankle was okay, she could move back to the cottage and both of them could get on with their lives - their separate lives. "I've got my book and a slice of coconut cream pie. I'm all set."

"Okay," Jason said. He wasn't going to spend another afternoon arguing with Brenda about what she did and didn't need. If she said she was all set he was going to take her at her word. "I'm going to head to the warehouse. Francis is outside if you need anything."

"Jason - wait," Brenda said. She'd been doing a lot of thinking over the past few days and she really needed to say something to Jason. She wasn't sure if now was the right time or if there would ever be a right time. There would probably never be a right time, but she needed to say this. "Do you have a minute?"

"Yeah," Jason said.

"I need to apologize to you for how I treated you when Sonny left," Brenda said. "For the way I treated you at St. Timothy's and for how I treated you at my cottage. I realize now that Sonny leaving - that wasn't your fault." Sonny made his own decisions, he'd always done that. But she'd been too blinded by love to realize what a coward he was. Sonny wasn't man enough to break things off with her in person, and regardless of his motivations he at the very least owed it to her to breakup with her in person. Instead Sonny did, what Sonny always did - if something was too hard or difficult, he sent Jason. "I was angry, but I wasn't angry at you. I was angry at Sonny and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the way - "

"You don't have to apologize," Jason said. "You were understandably upset and you needed to be mad at someone and I was there, Sonny wasn't."

"Jason, I am sorry," Brenda said. "You didn't do anything wrong. I get it now - you were looking out for me the only way you knew how. I threatened to call the police if I saw any of your guys but you kept them on me - because you were worried about me. And at the hospital, Jason - you brought me here when I had nowhere else to go. I was at rock bottom and you picked me up off the floor - "

"Brenda, no - "

"Jason, I know that Sonny asked you look out for me, but what you did - what you're doing, it's more than that. You could've dropped me off at the cottage and posted a few extra guards, but you didn't. And I - I just want to thank you for that," Brenda said.

"You're welcome," Jason said. If there was one thing he'd learned from Carly over the past few years that it was pointless to disagree with someone that tried to thank you. As far as he was concerned, he hadn't really done anything. But Carly had once explained to him that it was all a matter of perspective.

"Okay - good," Brenda said. "I'm glad I got that out in the open." Brenda reached for her slice of pie and took a bite. Brenda noticed that Jason was watching her intently, "What? Is there something on my face?" Instead of answering, Jason leaned forward and brushed a bit of whipped cream off Brenda's lower lip. Brenda's breath quickened as Jason leaned forward. Brenda closed her eyes as Jason touched her face then opened them when she heard Jason's phone ring.

Jason pulled away and took a deep breath, "Yeah," Jason said as he answered his phone.

Brenda bit her lower lip, two months ago if someone had told her that she'd be sitting on Jason's couch and he was about to kiss her, she wouldn't have believed them. What she found even stranger was that she wanted him to kiss her. She wanted to kiss him. She had said goodbye to Jason years ago, but this wasn't the same Jason and she wasn't the same either.

"Yeah - I'll be right there," Jason said and hung up. "I - I need to head to the warehouse. There's a problem with a shipment and I - "

Brenda nodded, "I understand," Brenda quickly said, not wanting this situation to get anymore uncomfortable than it already was.

Jason took a deep breath and stood up, "Um - so Francis is right outside if you need anything," Jason said and grabbed his jacket and left. Jason hit the call button on the elevator and shook his head. He wasn't sure what had propelled him to almost kiss Brenda. The only thing that had stopped him was the fact that his phone rang. Unquestionably, Brenda was a beautiful woman but until this moment he could honestly say that he'd never been attracted her. What worried him above all else, was that this wasn't just a physical attraction.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Jason walked around the penthouse, Brenda had just left and he was surprised at how empty it felt. It wasn't just that all her stuff was gone, it felt empty. She'd been gone less than five minutes and it already felt empty.

He'd spent the night with his fair share of women, but actually living with someone was a new experience for him. He'd pretty much lived alone since the accident, with the exception of a week that he'd stayed with Sonny. So living with Brenda, was the first time he'd ever lived with anyone, other than the Quartermaines. What surprised him, was that it wasn't that bad. For that first week, he and Brenda had mostly avoided each other, because avoiding each other was the only way to avoid fighting. But after that, he found that he actually enjoyed her company. She wasn't the shallow person she appeared to be on the surface, there was some real substance to her character. Sure she appreciated nice clothes and expensive food, but it was the lifestyle she'd grown accustomed to. But she wasn't a gold digger, she hadn't been interested in Sonny or Jax for their money. Brenda had her own money, she had her trust fund and her Deception income.

He'd actually gotten used to having her around the penthouse, to ordering in dinner every night, to fighting over the business section of the paper, to seeing her walk around the penthouse in pajamas that barely qualified as clothing - Jason shook his head. He didn't really have time to figure out what was going on with Brenda, he needed to take care of some things for Johnny. Jason grabbed the phone and called Justus, "Justus - hey, it's Jason." Jason reached for a pad of paper and started jotting down a list of things he needed Justus to do. "How much ELQ stock does AJ have?"

"6 percent," Justus said. "The same percentage as you and Emily."

"How much does Ned have?" Jason asked.

"10 percent, plus Brooklyn's proxy - a total of 14 percent," Justus said.

"Who has Tracy's proxy?" Jason asked.

"Lila," Justus said.

"She votes independently of Edward, right?" Jason asked.

"Usually," Justus said. "Lila - she definitely makes her own decisions."

"That's good to hear - thanks," Jason said.

"What's with all the questions about ELQ?" Justus asked. Jason had zero to little interest in his ELQ stock and usually Ned or himself voted his proxy.

"I might start taking a more personal interest in my investment," Jason said. And he would, but only if AJ were the biological father of Carly's child and only if AJ found out about it. If it came to it, he'd use every percentage of ELQ stock he could to keep AJ out of Carly and Johnny's lives. If AJ were the father, he'd considered selling AJ some of his stock, but he quickly pushed that idea out of his mind. AJ didn't respond well to bribery, it'd be much easier to make AJ painfully aware of how difficult he'd make his life, because Johnny could be the one voting his proxy, not Justus or Ned.

* * *

"Right there is fine," Brenda said and pointed to the foot of the staircase. She appreciated Rey carrying her bags in but she was perfectly capable of carrying them upstairs.

Reynaldo nodded and set down her bags, "Just let me know if you need anything else Ms. Barrett," Rey said.

"I - I will, thanks," Brenda said. She watched Rey leave then closed the door behind him. Brenda sat down at the foot of the stairs and wondered how she'd gotten to this point in her life. Less than a month ago, she'd been getting ready to plan her wedding to Jax. A few months before that she'd been all set to marry Sonny. But everything had spiraled out of control, in more ways than one. And after a few weeks of living with Jason, she was back at her cottage, single and alone. But maybe that's how things were meant to be. Maybe it was the universe's way of showing her that Sonny and Jax were wrong for her. "I sound like Lucy," Brenda muttered and went upstairs.

She didn't understand why every man that she had fallen for had tried to control her, well every man except for - Brenda sighed - one man except for Jason. But that was a different Jason and it had been years since she'd had any romantic thoughts about Jason. She had closed that chapter in her life a long time ago, long before the accident and long before Jason had turned into someone she didn't recognize. Or had he? Maybe he'd always been like this, but she'd just never known the real him until now. She'd heard the saying, the more things changed, the more they stayed the same and she couldn't help but wonder how much that applied to her current situation. Brenda shook her head, as much as they'd both changed over the years Jason definitely wasn't the same man that she had once loved with all her heart. They'd grown up and eventually out of love. Up until a few weeks ago, she never would have thought they'd even be friends again, much less anything more. But that was before he'd almost kissed her.

Brenda shook her head, she really didn't want to think about that - not now. Now that she was home, she wanted nothing more than to take a hot bath and relax. She just wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet of being home. Her life had been a roller coaster over the past few months, from her non-wedding to Sonny to the incident at the photo shoot to Jax's attempt to have her committed to staying with Jason over the past few weeks. Brenda checked the water temperature and added a liberal amount of bubble bath to the water. She undressed and sank into the water, anxious to forget the situations that led up to the past few weeks.

* * *

Jason took a deep breath and lightly knocked on the door before entering the room. Johnny briefly looked up then turned his attention back to Carly. Jason placed his hand on Johnny's shoulder, "How's she doing?" Jason asked.

"She hasn't woken up yet," Johnny said. It had only been a few hours but it felt like an eternity. "Jason, she lost a lot of blood. There were some complications with the cesarean, but the doctor thinks she's going to make a full recovery." Dr. Newman had wanted to give Carly a hysterectomy and said that was the only way to stop the bleeding, but he knew that Carly's body could heal itself. He knew that Carly wanted more children and he wasn't going to close the door on that option. Maybe they would never be able to have more children, but that was bridge they'd cross when they got to it. Strangely, it had been Bobbie who had advised against the hysterectomy. She said that she'd had one when she was younger and because of it she was never able to have another child and it was a decision she regretted for the rest of her life. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him, Bobbie had given up her baby girl and thought she was dead, but her baby girl had just given birth to her own baby girl and she had no clue. Johnny shook his head, if and when Carly ever decided to tell Bobbie the truth, it was her decision and now definitely wasn't the time.

Jason nodded, "And the baby?" Jason asked.

A ghost of a smile filled Johnny's face, "She's perfect," Johnny said. "She's a little small, but she's perfect." The baby was beautiful, she looked exactly like Carly, except that the baby had dark hair.

"Good," Jason said. He knew now wasn't really the time or the place for his next question, but time wasn't really on their side. He needed to know, and he needed to know now so he could handle it. Johnny had more than enough to deal with right now and he didn't want to add another thing to the list. "Do - do you know who the father is?"

Johnny took a deep breath and kissed Carly's hand and turned to face Jason, "AJ," Johnny said. "Bobbie was - she was there during the c-section. She told me that Tony's blood type is incompatible with the baby, so it has to be AJ." He only have to admit that AJ was the father two times, once to Jason and once to Carly, because after today those words would never be spoken again. One down, one to go.

Jason nodded, "Okay - I - I think it's better that the baby is AJ's. It's easier to keep tabs on him than Dr. Jones, and I can get his medical records if you ever need them later on. I can get the family medical history without drawing suspicion. I spoke with Francis, AJ is out of town on ELQ business. So we'll have a few days to get the DNA test and everything else in order. I'll take care of it."

"Yeah, I - we'd really appreciate that," Johnny said. "I don't want to leave her. She hates being left alone." He felt torn between being with Carly and being with the baby. He knew he needed to spend time with the baby, to reassure her that things were okay and that Mommy was fine, but he couldn't stand the thought of leaving Carly alone. She was going to be terrified when she woke-up and he wanted to be there when she did. He didn't want her worrying for one second that something had happened to their daughter. He wanted to hold her, but he wanted Carly to be there - so the two of them could share that moment, the moment when they held their daughter for the first time.

"Where's the baby?" Jason asked.

"She's in the nursery," Johnny said. "Rey's right outside to make sure that nothing happens to her."

"Do you want to go see her?" Jason asked. "I can stay with Carly or if you want - I can go sit with the baby. Johnny, just tell me what you need me to do."

"Can you call Brenda?" Johnny asked. "Carly really likes Brenda - and I think Carly needs all the support she - "

"Yeah - yeah, I can call her," Jason said. "Brenda likes Carly too. Is there anyone else you want me to call? Do you want me to call Mike or your parents?"

He'd been so focused on Carly that he hadn't even thought about calling his family. He hadn't even been the one to call Jason, one of the guards must have contacted him. "I'll call Mike and he can tell the family. I'm sure they'll all come up. Carly - she'll like that." His family was really close and Carly had always envied that while growing up. She'd pretty much been alone for most of her life, it'd always been just her and Virginia. But she was a part of his family now, and his family was hers now. Every woman he'd ever dated, with the exception of Carly, had always been overwhelmed by his family. But Carly had grown up with him and when they had dated, she'd fit right in.

"Okay, I'm going to go make a few calls," Jason said and started to leave then he turned around. "Johnny?"

"Yeah?" Johnny asked.

"Congratulations," Jason said.

"Thanks." Johnny kissed Carly's hand again, "Carly, honey - you gotta wake-up," Johnny said. "Our daughter - Carly's she's perfect. She's beautiful, she looks just like you. She was a little early, but there weren't any complications with the birth. Come on baby, our little girl needs you. I can't do this without you. I need you Carly, just wake-up." The doctors said there weren't any reasons to expect that Carly wouldn't make a full recovery, but he wasn't going to be assured of anything until Carly opened her eyes.

* * *

Brenda picked up a shirt and looked at it for a few seconds before putting it back on the rack. She looked at a few more shirts before wandering across the aisle to look at baby clothes. Brenda smiled as she looked at the tiny pairs of jeans and the velvet dresses adorned with ribbon. Brenda touched a few sweaters and smiled, they were so soft.

"Brenda?" Emily asked. "Hi." Emily glanced at the sweater in Brenda's hands and her jaw dropped. "Are you - are you and Jason having a baby?" Before Brenda got a chance to answer Emily hugged her. "This is why Jason wants to elope isn't it?"

Brenda stepped away and set down the sweater, "Emily, I'm not pregnant," Brenda said.

"Brenda, you can tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone," Emily said. "This is even more exciting than you and Jason getting married. I'm going to be an aunt! You know, I always thought that AJ would be the one to have a kid first, not Jason - because - " Emily paused. "It doesn't matter. This is so exciting. I'll babysit whenever you want. I - "

"Em, hey slow down for a second," Brenda said. "I'm not pregnant. I was just out shopping and - " She really wasn't sure what had possessed her to look at baby clothes. It had been a while since she'd thought about having a baby. She probably had babies on the brain because she'd been spending so much time with Carly over the past few weeks. "You know that Carly is due in about a month, I was trying to find a gift for her and the baby."

Emily frowned, "So - so you're not pregnant," Emily said.

"I'm not," Brenda said. There definitely wasn't any chance that she could be pregnant either.

"But you could be and maybe - "

"Emily, I'm not pregnant," Brenda said.

Emily sighed, "Not now," Emily said. "But in a few years, you and Jason - I'm sure you'll have lots of kids."

Brenda nodded, "Yeah," Brenda said. Now was probably a good time to tell Emily that she and Jason weren't getting married, not that they were ever getting married. Brenda glanced at her watch, this conversation was starting to get a little uncomfortable and she wanted to make a quick exit. Right on cue, her cell phone rung. "Hello. What? Is she okay? The baby?" Brenda breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God. Yeah, yeah - I'll be right there. Thanks for calling." Brenda took a deep breath. "Em - I gotta get going. That was Jason. Carly just had a c-section. I'll call you in a few days, we'll go lunch or something." Brenda quickly left the department store.

"Brenda - " Emily called, but Brenda was already gone. Emily picked up Brenda's bag. "You forgot your bag." Emily sighed and then heard her phone ring, "Hello. AJ. Hi. You're back in town? Do you want to hang out later? I was going to try to do something with Brenda, but her friend Carly just had a baby."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Brenda smiled at Bobbie as she stepped off the elevator, "Bobbie - hi, I just spoke with Jason. He told me that Carly had her baby. I thought I'd pop in and take a peak at the baby before I stopped by to see Carly," Brenda began. She wasn't sure if Carly was awake yet, and knew that Johnny and the baby were the first people Carly would want to see, but on the off chance that Carly had woken up already she wanted to tell her how gorgeous the baby was.

Bobbie frowned, "Oh, Brenda - Jason, he didn't - "

"Didn't what?" Brenda asked, immediately picking up on Bobbie's change in demeanor. "Was there something Jason was supposed to tell me?" Jason told her that Johnny had found Carly unconscious and that he'd brought her to the hospital. Carly had needed a c-section and she hadn't woken up, but everything was fine. There wasn't any reason that Jason would lie to her. Aside from the fact, that Jason didn't lie - he wouldn't lie about this. If something had happened, he would've told her. "Did something happen?"

Bobbie glanced around the nurses' station, she didn't usually violate patient confidentiality - but it was obvious that Brenda was practically family. From what she could tell, Johnny and Jason were as close as brothers and Jason was engaged to Brenda. Bobbie took a deep breath, "The baby is in surgery. There was a problem - "

"Where are they?" Brenda asked. She'd find out everything from Jason. "Where's Jason?" She knew without asking that Johnny was probably in the waiting room near the baby and that Jason was with Carly.

"Carly's in ICU," Bobbie said. "Room 826."

"Thanks," Brenda said and hurried down the corridor. She saw Jason standing outside of a hospital room and ran towards him. "Jason "

"Hey," Jason said as Brenda ran into his arms and buried her face in his chest and started crying. "What's wrong?" Jason gently ran his hand over Brenda's back. "Hey, what happened?" Jason touched Brenda's chin, forcing her to look up at him. He'd just spoken with Brenda not too long ago, he didn't really know why she was so upset. He hoped that she hadn't had a run in with Jax. He was planning to pay a visit to Jax after he'd broken up with Brenda so that Jax would know that he wasn't going to let him bother Brenda.

Brenda pulled away from Jason, suddenly embarrassed. She hadn't meant to do this. Brenda wiped her eyes, "I spoke with Bobbie - she said the baby was in surgery," Brenda said. "What happened?"

Jason nodded, "Yeah," Jason said and ran his hand over his face. "They ran a few tests and found out that the baby had a small flap in her heart, but she's gonna be fine. She's in surgery right now and there isn't any reason to worry. The procedure is pretty routine for premies."

Brenda closed her eyes for a few seconds, "Good," Brenda said. She hadn't really realized how scared she'd been until that moment. It wasn't until Bobbie had said that the baby was in surgery, that she realized how much Carly mattered to her. It was strange, she'd only known Carly for a few weeks, but she really liked Carly. She hadn't thought that she would, but she really enjoyed Carly's company and she knew how important this baby was to Carly and Johnny. But another thing that worried her was not that she was scared, but that she didn't really feel safe until she was with Jason, specifically - until she was in Jason's arms. Brenda glanced in Carly's room where a doctor was checking Carly's vitals. "Where's Johnny?"

"He's upstairs," Jason said. "He's waiting with the baby. He asked me to stay with Carly."

"She hasn't woken up yet, has she?" Brenda asked.

"No," Jason said. "I think it's better - you know, that she rest a little while longer. At least until the baby's out of surgery. So that way, Johnny can tell Carly that she's okay."

Brenda glanced at Jason, something was off with Jason. She wasn't exactly sure what. She could tell he was concerned about Carly and the baby, but there was something else - something else that he wasn't telling her. Brenda shook her head, reminding herself that Jason wasn't under any obligation to tell her anything.

* * *

Johnny took a deep breath as he sat down next to his daughter's incubator, "Hey there sweetheart," Johnny whispered as he reached his hand in the incubator. "The doctor said you came through surgery just fine. Not that I doubted that for a second. You are your mother's daughter." Johnny rested his hand on his daughter's tiny hand, "Your mom - she loves you. She's going to be so excited to see you and so relieved that you're all right." The doctors had told him it was okay if he held her, but he still wanted to wait until Carly could hold her too, he wanted to hand her to Carly. "You gave us a little scare, but the doctors fixed you up. You're strong sweetheart, just like your mom." Johnny watched his daughter as she slept. She opened her eyes and blinked up at Johnny, "Hi sweetheart. Decided it was time to wake-up, huh? You have no idea how happy I am to see those beautiful brown eyes of yours. You have your mother's eyes - and her mouth."

"You know, you changed my life," Johnny softly said. "Your mom and I - we weren't in the best places until a few weeks ago. You brought us together." Johnny brought his hand to her face and lovingly brushed his fingers over her face. "I think we would've gotten back together eventually - but your Mom and I, sometimes we make things difficult. We used to do things the hard way, but not anymore. There's too much on the line and we're not going to do anything to jeopardize our future. You're too important too us." There was no doubt in his mind that him and Carly were for keeps. "I'm going to spoil you rotten, but don't tell your mom. She made me promise I wouldn't." But he was pretty sure that Carly knew that he was going to spoil their daughter. She was barely eight hours old and she already had him wrapped around her little finger. "I'm going to love you no matter what, always remember that - especially you think about bringing home your first boyfriend. But we don't have to talk about that for another thirty-five years. Can you promise me that sweetheart? That you won't date until you're thirty-five?" Johnny heard a light tap on the window and he turned around and saw Brenda. Johnny kissed his fingertips and brushed them over his daughter's forehead, "I'll be back soon, sweetheart. I love you."

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Brenda apologized as Johnny stepped out of the nursery. "I just - " Brenda paused. "I just wanted you to know - I don't know - I guess that I was here. Jason's with Carly - she hasn't woken up yet." Brenda shook her head. She wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to say. Johnny had experienced something incredibly amazing - the birth of his daughter. But his wife was still unconscious and there was a possibility that she may not be able to have more children. And even worse, was that within a few hours of her birth, the baby had to have surgery. Thankfully, she was fine now. But Johnny wasn't going to be fine until Carly woke-up. "How's she doing?"

Johnny smiled, "She's doing great," Johnny said. "She just woke-up."

"I spoke with Bobbie before I came up," Brenda said. "She thinks Carly is about ready to wake-up. I can stay with the baby if you want to be with Carly."

Johnny nodded, "Yeah, I'd really appreciate that," Johnny said. "I don't want her to be alone."

Brenda rested her hand on Johnny's arm, "Go be with your wife and I'll keep an eye on that baby of yours," Brenda said.

"Thanks," Johnny said and started to head back towards the elevators. He'd have to send Jason back upstairs because he couldn't take any chances that AJ would be lurking in the hospital halls. He knew that Brenda wouldn't do anything to intentionally cause any problems, but she didn't know the truth. And right now - he needed to focus on Carly and his daughter, he didn't have the energy to deal with AJ.

* * *

"Hey precious," Brenda said. "I'm going to go out in the hall and talk to Jason, I'll be right back. He might have some news about your Mommy. I know she can't wait to see you. And I know you just saw your Daddy, but I'm sure he's anxious to see you too." Brenda watched the newborn sleep for a few more moments then stepped in the hall, quietly closing the door behind her. "Any news?"

"Not yet," Jason said and handed Brenda a cup of coffee.

Monica walked down the corridor and stopped when she noticed Jason and Brenda, "Jason, I am so glad you're here," Monica said. There had been an accident earlier and the blood bank was nearly depleted. She'd just received a call that a few of the passengers had type O blood and their wasn't that many pints of Type O left. She'd already put in a call to Mercy, but she wanted to have as many pints of Type O as possible on hand and luckily, Jason was O. "I need you to donate some blood. There was an accident earlier, plus with Carly's surgery and her daughter's surgery - we need some Type O. Johnny donated some earlier, but - "

"Yeah, yeah - it's no problem," Jason said. "Brenda - "

Brenda shook her head, indicating that she was fine. "Monica, can I ask you something?" Brenda asked.

"Yeah," Monica said.

"Do you think it'd be possible to move the baby in Carly's room?" Brenda said. "I know it's policy to keep newborns in the nursery, but the baby's not in ICU. You said so yourself that the baby is doing fine. She's a little premature, but not so much that she needs to be in neo-natal."

"I'd love to bend the rules, but it's policy that all newborns remain in the nursery," Monica insisted. Add that to the fact that she couldn't stand Carly. She hated how she'd broken up Bobbie and Tony's marriage.

"What if that were Jason's baby in there?" Brenda asked. "Or AJ's?" Brenda continued, oblivious to the truth - that the baby in that room was AJ's, biologically. "Wouldn't you want them to be near their child, to not have to divide their time between the mother and the child?"

Jason placed his hands on Brenda's shoulders, as much as he wanted Carly to be near her baby, he didn't want anyone to get overly suspicious about why the baby was in Carly's room. And he was sure that having the baby out of the nursery and in Carly's room would draw attention and the last thing he wanted was for anyone to think that Carly and Johnny had anything to hide, especially AJ. Francis had called him to let him know that AJ was back in town but he hadn't been seen anywhere near the hospital.

Monica sighed, "Brenda, that baby in there just had surgery," Monica said. "She is doing fine, but she needs a lot of extra care and attention. We're short staffed and I can't stretch the staff further, just to make special accommodations."

"Monica - I'm sure that Johnny would be more than willing to pay for a private nurse," Brenda said.

"Brenda, that's not your decision to make," Monica said. "If Johnny wants to - "

"Monica - watch it," Jason said. So maybe Brenda was overstepping, but she was doing so out of concern for Johnny and Carly. He knew that Monica didn't like Carly, she resented her for sleeping with Tony. But as far as he was concerned, Monica didn't have much room to talk. She'd broken up her fair share of marriages over the years, and didn't have any right to judge Carly. He was glad that Carly's baby wouldn't be a part of the Quartermaines' lives. He didn't want that kid to grow up with a family that resented her mother.

"Jason, it's fine," Brenda said. "If Monica doesn't want to show any compassion - that's her problem, not ours."

"Brenda - " Monica paused. She didn't really want to do anything to alienate Brenda, because she was the best chance she had at forging some sort of relationship with Jason. "I'm sorry but - "

"Monica, I don't want to hear it," Brenda said. "You're not willing to bend the rules because you have some sort of grudge against Carly."

Monica's pager went off and she glanced at the number, "That's the OR," Monica said. "Jason - if you could stop by the nurses' station and let them know you're going to donate blood - "

"Yeah," Jason said. "You should get going." Monica nodded and quickly walked away. Jason ran his hand over his face. Brenda was right, Monica was being unreasonable. He was positive that if any other patient had made the same request, she would've made it happen. He was also positive that if Monica knew that Carly's daughter was AJ's daughter, Monica would do everything she could to keep Carly away from her daughter and there was no way he was going to let that happen. "I'm going to head to the nurses' station. I'll be back as soon as I'm finished."

"Okay, I'll be here," Brenda said. Jason left the maternity ward and Brenda went back in the nursery and sat down. She smiled at the baby as she slept. "You're so lucky little girl. You have a mommy and a daddy that love you very much."

AJ looked around the maternity ward. He just saw Jason get on the elevator, so that meant Brenda was alone with Carly's daughter - correction, his daughter. Because as much as Carly and Johnny claimed that the baby was Johnny's, he knew that wasn't true. It didn't surprise him that Carly had slept with Johnny, after all she'd slept with him while she was engaged to Tony. But he had a lot of doubts that Johnny was the father. Out of all of the eligible fathers, Tony Jones, stood the best chance but he was nowhere to be seen. AJ approached the nursery and wondered where the guards went. He'd been waiting most of the day to get a chance to see his daughter, but she hadn't been alone all day. He had a better chance of getting past Brenda than he did Johnny or Jason.

"I'll be back in a minute," Brenda said. "I'm just going to get a drink of water." Brenda watched the baby for a few minutes and stepped out in the hall. She headed straight to the drinking fountain and jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Brenda closed her eyes for a second to compose herself, she hadn't heard anyone walking down the hall. Jason couldn't be done donating blood yet, so he must have forgotten something. "Forget something?" Brenda turned around and looked at AJ strangely. "AJ? What are you doing here?"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Johnny brought Carly's hand to his lips and lightly kissed it, "Wake-up," Johnny whispered. Johnny closed his eyes and brought Carly's hand back to her side. He rested his head on the side of the bed, his face resting next to her hand. "Just wake-up, Caroline." Johnny sighed and closed his eyes again. He suddenly opened them when he felt Carly's hand move. "Carly? Honey?"

Carly blinked a few times as she opened her eyes, "Johnny?" Carly asked, her voice so soft that she could barely hear herself. "Wh - where am I?" Carly briefly closed her eyes again. She was so groggy and sore. Carly immediately moved her hands to her stomach. "Johnny?" Carly started crying. "What happened? Oh god - the baby. Did something happen to the baby? Please - Johnny, what happened? Where's our baby? What happened to the baby?" Carly started to get up, ignoring the pain.

Johnny immediately leaned forward and gently pushed Carly back in bed, "The baby's fine," Johnny said. "She's fine. She was a little early - " Johnny paused, he knew he had to tell Carly that their daughter had heart surgery, but he needed her to calm down first. "She's beautiful, Carly. She looks just like you. She's gorgeous." He'd seen pictures of Carly when she was younger, and their daughter looked exactly like her.

"A girl?" Carly asked. "We had a baby girl?" Johnny nodded and kissed Carly's hand, then brushed the tears off her face. "I want to see her. Where is she? Is she in the nursery or in neo-natal? She's premature." Carly noticed Johnny's hesitation and she started crying harder. "Johnny, tell me. What's wrong?"

"She's fine," Johnny insisted. "There was a flap in her heart - but the doctors caught it. It's already been repaired. She's doing fine, Carly. She's a fighter, just like you. She woke-up a few hours ago. Brenda and Jason are sitting with her. Let me get a doctor and as soon as you're checked out - we'll go see our daughter." Johnny stood up and leaned over Carly and kissed her forehead, "She's fine Carly." Johnny touched Carly's face, "Okay? I'll be right back."

"Johnny - wait," Carly said and reached for Johnny's hand as he started to walk away. "Do you - do you know?" Right now all she wanted to do was hold her daughter, but she needed to know. She needed to know who the father was. She knew that Johnny was taking care of everything and that she didn't need to ask about a paternity test, but she needed to know. She needed to know if the baby was AJ or Tony's. Because right now, she wasn't sure which would be worse. All she knew was that it didn't matter who the biological father was, Johnny was her child father in every way that mattered. If it were up to her, no one other that her, Johnny and Jason would ever find out the truth.

Johnny sat down again, "Yeah," Johnny said. "AJ."

"AJ," Carly whispered and started crying. She wasn't sure what had been harder, for her to tell Johnny that she was pregnant with another man's child or to admit that there was the possibility that the baby was AJ's. Because even though Johnny hadn't been able to support what she had done to Bobbie, he understood it. And sleeping with Tony was part of her master plan to destroy Bobbie's life and it didn't mean anything. But sleeping with AJ, that was - that was different. It still meant nothing and as much as she wanted to say that sleeping with AJ had been a mistake, she couldn't because it had given her a daughter. "Johnny - "

Johnny shook his head, "Don't," Johnny whispered. "Don't apologize." He knew Carly felt guilty, but there wasn't any reason for her to feel guilty. Yeah, it hurt that Carly had just given birth to a child that wasn't his biologically, but it hurt even more knowing that she was beating herself up over it. "I love you and I love our daughter."

Carly smiled, "She's really okay?" Carly asked.

"She's fine," Johnny said. "I'll be back in a minute, okay?" Carly nodded and Johnny brushed his lips over Carly's forehead before leaving the room.

* * *

AJ took a deep breath, he was just moments away from seeing his daughter. All he had to do was convince Brenda to let him see her. He had his lawyer working on a restraining order against Carly and all he needed to do was get everything ready while Carly was still unconscious. He had tried calling the hospital earlier for more information, but hadn't been able to get anything over the phone. He'd have to get some more information from Emily.

"AJ?" Brenda asked. "I asked what you're doing here." Something was off about AJ's behavior and she wasn't sure what it was. He seemed nervous about something, he was hiding something. Brenda bit her lower lip, she hoped AJ wasn't drinking again.

"I heard Carly had her baby," AJ said as he glanced in the nursery.

Brenda smiled, "Yeah, she did," Brenda said. "I wasn't aware you knew Carly." Come to think of it, she wasn't really sure who Carly's friends were other than Johnny and Jason - but she hadn't heard Carly mention AJ at all.

"We used to work together," AJ said. "Before she went on maternity leave, she worked in the physical therapy unit." The she slept with him, Tony Jones and apparently Johnny Marciano in a small time span. And sometime after that she threw him in a laundry cart and made him think he had fallen off the wagon.

"Right," Brenda said. She vaguely remembered Robin complaining about Carly, something about Carly trying to worm her way into every facet of Jason's life. Brenda shook her head, Robin obviously hadn't known Jason at all. Because if there was one thing she knew about Jason Morgan was that he wanted nothing to do with AJ. Brenda sighed as she remembered how close the two had once been, but those were different times. It was just one of the many things about Jason that had changed and would never be the same again. "Carly's downstairs."

"Is she?" AJ asked. "I'm surprised she's not up here."

"No - she - " Brenda paused and looked at AJ carefully, trying to figure out what his agenda was. "She's resting."

AJ nodded, "Resting," AJ said. Carly was doing a lot more than resting, she was unconscious and that meant her gangster husband was with her. He wasn't sure where Jason was, but hopefully he'd be gone long enough for him to get to spend some time with his daughter before he had his lawyer petition for custody. "Where's Jason? You know, I was really surprised to hear about the two of you. I wasn't aware that the two of you were seeing each other again. Kinda like old times."

"It's not like that," Brenda said. AJ had no idea how much it wasn't like old times. Granted, she and Jason had come a long way since the day Sonny had left her at the altar but they were nowhere near it being anything like old times. There had been a time in her life where Jason was the most important person in her life and she loved him with everything she had. But they grew up and apart and eventually fell out of love. After a few months of awkward moments, they finally found a way to become friends again. But Jason's accident erased all of that. Her entire history with Jason was gone and saying that they hated each other was an understatement. But something happened, something unexpected and when she needed him - he was there, just like old times. But that was the only thing about their relationship that resembled old times. Brenda shook her head, she wasn't here to think about Jason, she was her to support Johnny and Carly.

"Brenda, come on," AJ said. "This is me you're talking to. I saw what you and Jason had, it's only natural that you'd want to revisit the past."

"AJ, you don't know what you're talking about," Brenda said.

"So where is Jason?" AJ asked.

"He's - "

"Leave," Jason said as he entered the hallway outside of the nursery.

"Jason, I was just talking to Brenda," AJ said. "You know - the three of us should get together for lunch sometime."

Brenda watched Jason and AJ, trying to figure out what was going on. Jason and AJ could barely stand to be around each other for more than five seconds without fighting, why would AJ want to have lunch with Jason? And more importantly, why had Jason asked AJ to leave the moment he saw AJ?

"I told you to leave," Jason said as he walked towards AJ. He didn't think AJ would actually be stupid enough to show up at the hospital, but he was wrong. Because here he was and there was no way he was letting AJ anywhere near Carly and Johnny's baby.

AJ slowly backed away, "You can't make me leave," AJ said. "This is a hospital, it's a public place. Grandfather - "

"I don't care about the old man," Jason said. "I told you to leave. Either leave now or I'll throw you out myself."

"You don't want to do that," AJ said. He'd heard all about Brenda's breakdown and luckily he'd found the news station at the photo shoot. He had to give Jason credit, he'd been thorough. It'd taken a lot of money to get a hold of the few photos that the photographer had kept.

"I have no use for you," Jason said. "You're not wanted here. You have no reason to be here."

"You might want to rethink that," AJ said. "I heard about Brenda's photo shoot. The wedding one? You did a good job of keeping it off the news and out of the papers but you didn't - "

Jason grabbed AJ and shoved him against the wall, "I didn't what?" Jason asked as he raised his forearm to AJ's neck.

"Jason, don't," Brenda said as she placed her hand on Jason's shoulder. "We're in a hospital."

"What AJ?" Jason asked. He briefly let AJ go before slamming him against the wall. "What didn't I do?" He raised his arm again but released AJ as a feeling of lightheadedness washed over him.

"Jason?" Brenda asked and reached out to touch Jason's arm. "Jason? What's wrong?"

Jason shook his head, "I'm fine," Jason said. "I - I didn't eat - "

"AJ, I think you should leave," Brenda said.

AJ laughed, "Are you afraid of me?" AJ asked. "The mobster didn't eat lunch and he's too weak to beat up his brother?" AJ laughed again. "Oh, I get it. She doesn't know, does she?"

"Know what AJ?" Brenda asked. "You know what, I don't care. Because I don't want to hear whatever garbage you're spewing. You're jealous of Jason, you always have been. He's always been better than you - at just about everything. And for the record, Jason's not afraid of you. He was donating blood and knowing your brother - he probably donated more than he should have. Because Jason has something, you'll never have no matter how hard you try. And I'm not talking about love or respect or money, I'm talking about compassion. He's been here with his best friends all day and donated blood when Monica asked him to."

"Blood?" AJ asked. Type O, Jason had type O blood. "The hospital ran out of Type O?"

Jason looked at AJ strangely, trying to figure out what was going through AJ's mind. But before he had a chance to answer, Brenda did. "Not completely. But just with all the surgeries today and there was a really bad car accident. Johnny donated some earlier - "

"Johnny has type O?" AJ asked as the pieces started to fall into place. Carly didn't have type O blood, so the only reason that Johnny would be donating was if the baby had type O. But he didn't. He had type A, so that meant his blood type was incompatible with the baby. And if his blood type was incompatible with the baby, then he couldn't be the father.

Brenda shrugged, "Yeah," Brenda said.

AJ looked at Jason then Brenda, "I - I'm sorry," AJ said. "Jason - " AJ paused and shook his head. "You win." AJ glanced in the nursery and walked away.

Brenda looked at Jason strangely, "What was that about?" Brenda asked. It didn't surprise her that Jason and AJ got in a fight, the two of them always fought. But there was something else that was going on and she didn't have any clue what that was. And she wanted to know why it mattered to AJ what type of blood Johnny had.

"Don't worry about it," Jason said. He wasn't sure how, but Brenda had unknowingly convinced AJ that Johnny was the baby's father. "Can you stay here a little while longer? I'm going to stop by the cafeteria and grab something to eat and check in on Johnny and Carly." He needed to let Johnny know that AJ wasn't going to be a problem, but that didn't mean that they could let their guard down. If AJ was stupid enough to believe that just because Johnny and the baby had the same blood type, he wasn't the father - he wasn't going to correct him.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Thanks to everyone that has been reading and reviewing. There are four more chapters left in this story. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 15

Brenda looked at Jason for a few seconds, internally debating whether or not she should let this drop or if she should press the issue. Something was definitely going on that she didn't know about and she wasn't sure if it was her place to press Jason or not. They'd definitely become a lot closer in the past month, but that didn't mean he owed her any explanations. However, Jason's guard was definitely up and that wasn't something she'd been on the receiving end of over the past few weeks. However, just because Jason had let her in on some aspects of his life didn't mean that she had carte blanche to dissect his life. "Of course I'll stay here," Brenda said. Jason nodded and started to walk away but Brenda placed her hand on Jason's arm. "But just because I'm staying here don't think for one second that our conversation is over. I want to know why you're so on edge and what AJ was doing here and what he meant when he said you won." Jason opened his mouth to say something but Brenda silenced him with a glare. "You're not getting out of this Jason. If you don't want to tell me what's going on, I'm going to have to talk to AJ." She really didn't have any idea what was going on, but she knew one thing - AJ was a major piece of the puzzle.

"Not now," Jason said. It definitely wasn't his place to tell Brenda anything about the baby's paternity. If she was told anything, it was Carly's call. But he needed to tell her something because he couldn't run the risk that she would run to AJ and accidently tell him something that would lead him to the truth. He knew that Brenda wouldn't do anything to intentionally do anything to harm Carly's daughter, but the road to Hell was paved with good intentions.

"Why not now?" Brenda asked. "Johnny's with Carly and there hasn't been any change with the baby. There's no one around."

He didn't really want to lie to Brenda, but he didn't have a choice. "I'm taking a more active role in ELQ," Jason said. That was partially true. He wasn't really planning on doing anything drastic with his stock now that AJ thought Johnny was the father. But maybe he could use it someway to keep AJ on a tight leash. Now he needed to get those photos of Brenda from AJ and his ELQ stock provided the perfect bargaining chip.

Brenda looked at Jason for a few moments before answering. It was odd that AJ would track Jason down at the hospital only to tell him that he'd won, especially after he'd tried to visit Carly's baby. But on the other hand, she knew how important ELQ was to AJ and it made perfect sense that AJ would be wary of Jason where his stock was concerned. "Are you?" Brenda asked as she continued to process everything.

"Yes," Jason said.

"Okay," Brenda said, pushing aside any doubts she had and choosing to believe Jason. She had to keep reminding herself that Jason didn't really owe her any type of explanations.

* * *

Johnny took a deep breath as he pushed Carly's wheelchair towards the nursery. He stopped when they were outside of the maternity ward and knelt next to Carly.

"Why are we stopping?" Carly asked as Johnny reached for her hand. Dr. Meadows told them they could go right in and see the baby. If they could go straight in, why were they stopping? "Johnny - there's not something else wrong is there?" Her anxiety became more and more apparent with every word. "Johnny - "

"No," Johnny said and kissed Carly's hand and reached up to touch her face. "I told you everything." He hadn't kept anything from Carly, he just wanted to make sure she was as calm as possible before they entered the nursery. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was to see Carly in any pain. And he knew that it was going to upset Carly when she saw their daughter connected to all those monitors.

"Then why did we stop?" Carly asked.

"I just wanted us to take a minute before we went to see our daughter," Johnny said. "There are a lot of machines in there, but she's doing fine."

Carly smiled at Johnny, "I know," Carly whispered. "And I know what you're doing, but Johnny - you don't have too. I'm okay Johnny." She knew that Johnny was just as worried about her as she was their daughter, but she also knew that Johnny had this tendency to make sure everything was okay for her and she loved him for it. But this was the one time where she didn't need to be okay. "I just want to see our daughter." Carly smiled at Johnny again, "I love you and I know you're just as scared as I am, but I want to see her. I'm okay."

Johnny nodded and started pushing Carly's wheelchair again, "She's beautiful," Johnny said as he wheeled Carly into the maternity ward.

Brenda looked up when she heard the door open, "Your parents are here," Brenda whispered and stepped out of the nursery to greet Carly and Johnny. "Hi, I was just spending some time with that gorgeous little girl of yours." Brenda smiled at Carly, "I'm really glad both of you are okay. I'll get out of your way so you two can have her all to yourself."

"Thank you for staying with her," Carly said. It really meant a lot to her that Brenda was able to stay with her daughter while she was unconscious.

"No problem," Brenda said. "I'm going to find Jason." Brenda debated telling Johnny that Jason had been looking for him, but she knew that he needed to worry about that baby more than whatever it was that Jason had to tell him.

Carly watched Brenda leave and she looked up at Johnny, "Johnny?" Carly asked.

Johnny leaned down and kissed the top of Carly's head and wheeled her into the nursery, "Here she is," Johnny said as he stopped in front of their daughter's incubator.

Tears filled Carly's eyes as she saw her daughter for the first time, "Johnny," Carly whispered as she raised her hand to cover her mouth. "Johnny - "

Johnny pulled a chair over and reached for Carly's hand, "Carly, it's not as bad as it looks," Johnny said. "She's strong - just like her mom."

"She's so small," Carly said. "There's so many tubes - "

"I know," Johnny said as he pulled Carly closer to him. "But she's doing fine."

"Everything went okay, right?" Carly asked. "The doctors - they told you everything?" Carly wiped her tears from her face, "There's nothing else wrong, is there?"

"No," Johnny assured her. "I can go get Monica if you want me too." He really wished that Monica hadn't been the attending surgeon, but she was the best cardiologist on staff at General Hospital.

Carly shook her head, "No," Carly said and cautiously reached her hand out towards the incubator. She looked so fragile, she didn't want to do anything to hurt her.

"It's okay to touch her," Johnny said, both recognizing and understanding Carly's hesitation. He had the same reaction, the yearning to hold and comfort his child but fearful of doing something wrong and harming her. "Do you want to hold her? You should be the first one to hold her."

Carly looked up at Johnny, "You haven't?" Carly asked.

"I was waiting for you," Johnny said. He stood up and gently reached inside the incubator, being careful not to disturb their daughter more than necessary. Johnny softened his voice, "It's okay sweetheart." Johnny gingerly lifted her out of the incubator and carefully placed her in Carly's outstretched arms.

"Hi," Carly whispered as Johnny handed her their daughter. Johnny placed a kiss on their daughter's forehead and Carly reached up and brushed the tears from Johnny's face. "Thank you."

Johnny smiled at Carly as he sat down again and put his arm around her, "Look at her," Johnny said. "She's beautiful. She looks just like you." Johnny gently touched the baby's face, "Leigh - your mom and I, we love you very much."

"Johnny, are you sure - about the name?" Carly asked. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. But now that the baby was here, she wasn't so sure. She and Johnny had selected two names. Leigh, her middle name, for a girl - and Jason for a boy.

"Positive," Johnny said.

* * *

Jason walked into ELQ and rolled his eyes at the family portrait in the lobby. The only thing that they got right about the portrait was that he wasn't in it. Jason headed straight to AJ's office and entered without knocking.

"What are you doing here?" AJ asked as he set down his glass of vodka.

"We need to talk," Jason said. "We have a few things to settle."

AJ immediately reached for his glass, "Look - your thug friend is the father of Carly's baby. I'm not going to do anything." He'd been positive that he was the father of Carly's child, otherwise why would she have gone to such great lengths to make him forget that night they spent together? But now that she was married to Johnny, it made sense that she wanted to hide it from Johnny and Tony. AJ still wasn't sure what Carly's whole engagement to Tony Jones had been about if she was hung up on Johnny and pregnant with his kid. AJ shook his head, Carly wasn't his problem.

Jason inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, hopefully AJ was true to his word and he'd stay out of it. Because if he didn't, he wasn't going to like the end result. "There's something else we needed to discuss," Jason said. He sent Rey to handle the photographer that was at Brenda's photo shoot, but he needed to deal with AJ himself. "How much?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," AJ said and downed the rest of his drink. He wasn't about to be intimidated by his baby brother.

"You do," Jason said. "But let's make this easier - I'm talking about Brenda's photo shoot. Now, you weren't at the hospital the night Jax tried to admit her and the only people that knew about the photo shoot was everyone at the hospital, the photographer and Jax." He knew that none of the Quartermaines had breathed a word about it, not even to each other because gossiping about Brenda wouldn't serve any purpose. He also knew that Jax had gotten the message the night of Johnny and Carly's wedding. Now the photographer on the other hand, he had thought he'd paid the photographer enough. Apparently he hadn't, but the photographer was about to pay for lying to him. "How much did they cost you?"

"Twenty grand," AJ said.

"Twenty grand," Jason said. "Too bad you wasted it." Jason walked over to AJ, "Give me the pictures, negatives - whatever that photographer gave you, I want it. And if I see them anywhere, I'll kill you."

AJ looked into the cold eyes of the man that was once his little brother and swallowed. Any compassion or sentimental feelings Jason had once had for him had since been erased and he was now staring in the eyes of a cold-blooded who wouldn't hesitate to kill him. AJ pointed to his desk, "There in the top left hand drawer," AJ said.

Jason reached in the drawer and pulled out a loose stack of photos, he glanced at the top one and turned to AJ in disgust, "You were going to sell these?" Jason asked. This was the first time he'd looked at any of the pictures. If any of these pictures got out, her career would be over. Not to mention, the paparazzi would start hanging around more - lying in wait hoping to catch her lose control. Maybe she hadn't had a breakdown, but who was to say that next time she wouldn't.

"Jason - " AJ paused. He wasn't really planning to sell the pictures, he was just hoping to use them as leverage against Jason, if he needed to keep Carly and her thug husband at bay. "The important thing is that I didn't."

"And you're not going to," Jason said. "Is this it? Any copies or negatives?"

"That's all I have," AJ said.

"Remember what I told you," Jason said. "If any of these pictures get out, I'm holding you personally responsible. Oh and AJ, if you even think about trying to get any of those photos again, remember, I have the same amount of ELQ stock as you do. And Ned has his own, plus his daughter's proxy. Ned has always thought of Brenda like a sister - you should keep that in mind."

AJ watched Jason leave and shook his head, while pouring himself another drink. He knew Jason wouldn't hesitate to kill him, but Jason wasn't invincible. Jason had just revealed his greatest vulnerability - Brenda.

* * *

Brenda sank down on her sofa and closed her eyes for a few seconds, her day had been incredibly long and she was finally glad to be home. Between moving out of Jason's and spending the rest of the day at the hospital, she was exhausted. Brenda closed her eyes for a few seconds, she'd love nothing more than to be able to go right to sleep but she hadn't eaten all day and knew she should probably eat something.

Brenda walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, "Empty," Brenda muttered. Of course, her fridge was empty. She hadn't lived here in about three weeks and any food that was here now was nowhere near edible. Brenda reached for the stack of takeout menus kept near the phone and thumbed through them, pulling out the one from her favorite Thai restaurant. She reached for the phone and dropped the menu on the floor. Brenda bent down to get it and suddenly, the cottage went black. Brenda hurriedly stood up, hitting her head on the counter. Brenda turned around and started walking to the basement to turn on the fuse, when she noticed someone standing in the living room.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"She's gorgeous, isn't she?" Carly asked, smiling. The smile hadn't left her face since she'd held her daughter for the first time.

"Yeah," Johnny agreed. "She's beautiful, Caroline." He knew that all parents were biased towards their own children, but his daughter was beautiful. Leigh was the spitting image of Carly. It didn't matter to him that Leigh wasn't his biological daughter, she was Carly's daughter so that made Leigh his. Johnny adjusted Carly's pillows and shut off the light. Johnny brushed his lips over Carly's. "I love you." Johnny ran his hand through Carly's hair and smiled when she reached for his hand.

"Don't go," Carly whispered, squeezing Johnny's hand. She'd been too preoccupied with hiding her baby's paternity to really focus on the baby. But all that changed the night she showed up looking for Jason, but found Johnny instead. She'd spent a lot of time since then envisioning childbirth - but she'd been unconscious through all of it. The baby that was in her womb for months, was hooked up to machines in another room. She couldn't bear the thought of being alone right now. She wished that Leigh could be brought in here, but she had to stay in the nursery. "Please don't go."

"You need to rest," Johnny said and sat down in the chair next to Carly's bed. He made a mental note to donate some money for more comfortable chairs in hospital rooms. He reached for Carly's hand and kissed it. Today had been the longest day of his life, but his girls pulled through. He still needed to talk to Carly about her not having a hysterectomy, but now wasn't the time. They were both exhausted, emotionally and physically. They didn't need to talk about that now. Carly was awake from the surgery, she hadn't lapsed into a coma, which he feared she would. Leigh was holding her own after her own sudden surgery, things were as well as they could be considering how they were hours earlier.

"So do you," Carly reminded him. She'd been unconscious for most of the day, but Johnny lived through every second of this day and she knew that Johnny had either been by her side or Leigh's all day. She started to slide over but grimaced from the pain.

"Careful," Johnny said and gently rested his hand on Carly's side.

"Just lay down with me," Carly said and lifted the blanket. "Please."

Johnny smiled at Carly, "Don't move," Johnny said and carefully climbed into the narrow hospital bed. He sighed once he had Carly in his arms, with her resting against his chest. "I'm so glad you're okay, I don't know what I would've done - "

"Don't," Carly said. "Don't say it. Don't even think it. We're fine - both of us are fine."

"I know, I'm grateful," Johnny said. "I'm not sure - " Johnny paused, not wanting to voice his thoughts. "You're strong Carly, and our daughter - she's gonna be just like you."

"Which means, she's going to give us a lot of trouble," Carly said.

"I'm going to love every second of it," Johnny said. He'd been terrified earlier, at the thought of losing one of them or both of them. Children were a blessing, one that he wasn't going to take for granted. Johnny intertwined their fingers and sighed. The tension and stress from the day, started to slowly leave his body and his breathing deepened.

Carly closed her eyes, content to be in Johnny's arms and know that her daughter was safe down the hall. Safe from AJ, safe from more health complications - just safe. "Johnny?" Carly quietly asked.

"Mmm, what?" Johnny murmured, half-asleep.

"I love you," Carly said. "I don't know what I'd ever do with you."

"You're not going to find out," Johnny said. "Go to sleep."

* * *

"Don't panic," Brenda whispered to herself. Maybe it was a shadow or - Brenda shook her head. Who was she kidding? It wasn't a shadow. What were the odds that there was a person shaped shadow in her living room. Someone was in the cottage - someone was after her. She thought Jax had gotten the hint to stay away after Jason threw him up against a wall the night of Carly and Johnny's wedding. Brenda slowly backed up against the wall and slowly slid to the ground. There had to be something in here she could use as a weapon, a pan or a knife. She had an incredible set of steak knives. Brenda said a silent thank you to Carmine Cerullo. He insisted that one day she would start cooking and needed a good set of knives. Well, she needed one now and there wasn't a steak in sight. Brenda slowly moved across the kitchen being careful to stay as close to the ground as possible. She reached up and grabbed the block of knives and pulled out the one with the biggest blade and stood up. Brenda screamed when she felt a hand on her arm and turned around, raising the knife - dropping it as soon as she saw it was Jason. Brenda angrily pushed Jason, "What do you think you're doing? Sneaking up on me like that? I almost stabbed you! What's wrong with you?"

"Holding a knife like that? No, you weren't," Jason said. The angle was all wrong and Brenda didn't have a good grip on the knife. If he had been an intruder, he could've easily grabbed the knife and used it against her. "If you want to stab someone, you should - "

"I didn't invite you here so you could share your enforcer tips," Brenda said. "Come to think of it, I didn't invite you here."

"I stopped by ELQ," Jason said. "I spoke with AJ and I wanted to let you know I got the rest of the pictures. The ones he got from the photographer." Jason reached in his jacket pocket and handed an envelope to Brenda. "Here." He probably didn't need to stop by the cottage tonight or he could've called, but he wanted her to know that it was taken care of. He didn't want her wondering if there were more pictures out there and if AJ was going to use the pictures as a way to get to him.

Brenda looked at the envelope for a few moments, "Thanks," Brenda said and shoved the pictures in the nearest drawer. Even though they'd been standing in the dark for a few minutes, she hadn't really realized it once she knew it was Jason with her. Brenda closed her eyes for a few seconds, not wanting to figure out why. "So, if you're not an intruder - then why is my power out? Or are you an intruder?"

"There's a storm coming," Jason said. He'd heard them talking about it on the radio.

"I don't have any food," Brenda said. "I was just going to order - " Brenda glanced out the window, it had been snowing lightly when she came home, but the snow was really coming down now. "I probably won't be able to get the Thai place to deliver, will I?"

"No," Jason said.

"Any chance you brought a pizza with you?" Brenda hopefully asked she walked into the dining room to grab some candles. She brought them back in the kitchen and walked over to her stove, grateful she had a gas stove, and lit a taper candle first. Once she started lighting the other candles, the lights flickered on and off a few times before staying on.

"Does your power go out a lot?" Jason asked and looked around the kitchen.

"Sometimes, not always - but often enough that I know where the fuse box is and I can start a fire," Brenda said as she blew out the candles she lit.

"You should think about getting a generator," Jason said. "That way if your power goes out - "

"I know what a generator is," Brenda said. "Just because I'm a model doesn't mean - "

"I didn't mention anything about modeling," Jason defensively said. He didn't see why Brenda was always putting words in his mouth. "All I said was - "

"Okay, fine," Brenda said. "I'll think about getting a generator." Brenda glanced out the window again, "It stopped snowing. You should get going before it starts snowing again. If you stay, I can't really offer you dinner. Unless you want marshmallows or peanut butter." She'd probably have to throw away everything in her fridge, thankfully she did have some food in the cupboards and maybe there was something in the freezer.

"I can send someone back with a pizza or thai food," Jason offered.

Brenda shook her head, "No, it's fine," Brenda replied. "I have pasta in the cupboard, maybe some sauce or something. I'll be fine. I just need a little something before I go to bed. It was a long day." From moving out of Jason's to being in the hospital for most of the day, plus Jason's confrontation with AJ. She still wasn't sure what was going on and if Jason would ever tell her the whole story. She believed him when he said he was taking a more active role in ELQ, but she sensed that was just part of the puzzle. There was something else going on and either ELQ was a small part of it, or it was a smokescreen. Because, since the accident Jason was practically incapable of lying. But what he was capable of was diverting people's attention to something else and omitting the truth without lying.

"Okay," Jason said. "I'm going to get going then. Call me - " Jason paused for a few seconds before continuing. "Call me if you need anything - and look into getting that generator."

Brenda laughed, "Right, I'll do that," Brenda said. "I'll probably stop by the hospital sometime tomorrow."

"Yeah, me too," Jason said. "So - yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." Jason started to leave when Brenda reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Jason?" Brenda quietly asked. "I didn't thank you."

"For what?" Jason asked. "Stopping by tonight?"

"For - for everything," Brenda said. "For standing up for me at the hospital, for letting me invade your penthouse, for handling everything with the photographers and tonight with AJ, for taking care of me when I twisted my ankle, for spending Christmas with me, for letting me in your life again - " Brenda's voice trailed off, she hadn't meant to mention that. Losing Jason's friendship was what she hated most about the accident. She'd come to terms with the end of her and Jason's romance long before the accident, but losing him as a friend meant not having him in her life and that was something she'd had a hard time accepting. Since the photo shoot, that started to change. And on one hand, her life had been pretty tough since Sonny ditched her at the altar. But, every cloud had a silver lining - and this one turned out to be renewing her friendship with Jason.

"Yeah, no - problem," Jason said, suddenly uncomfortable with the turn in conversation. "I should head out before it starts snowing again. Bye."

Brenda waved at Jason and he left as quickly as he had shown up. Brenda sighed and started opening her cupboards, there had to be something edible somewhere in this kitchen.

* * *

"Johnny?" Carly asked.

"Comfortable?" Johnny asked and kissed Carly's neck. Carly sighed and Johnny drifted into a light sleep.

"No," Carly answered and reached for Johnny's hand.

Johnny opened his eyes and squinted, "Want me to get the nurse?" Johnny asked. He started to reach for the call button when Carly stopped him.

"I want to see Leigh," Carly said.

"What time is it?" Johnny asked and looked around the room for a clock. He started to climb out of bed, being careful not to disturb Carly. "Let me get a wheelchair."

"I can walk," Carly insisted.

"Carly, honey - I don't want you to strain yourself," Johnny said. "You had surgery, you shouldn't be walking around right now." Johnny lightly brushed his hand over Carly's cheek. "Okay?"

"I just want to see her," Carly softly said. She couldn't explain it, but she just wanted to be near Leigh. She wanted to make sure she was all right and that she knew that her parents were there. "She's in there all alone - "

"I know," Johnny said. "I don't like it, but they won't move her in here." There was a light knock on the door and he looked at Carly.

"It's barely six," Carly said. "And someone actually knocked, so it's not staff." One thing she'd never understand about hospitals, was how people were supposed to rest when the staff kept coming in and out of everyone's room.

Johnny quickly kissed Carly and opened the door, smiling when he saw his parents, "Hey - we weren't expecting you so soon," Johnny said. Yesterday had been an emotional roller coaster and he hadn't even thought about calling anyone until Jason mentioned it. So he called his brother, he hadn't even talked to his parents yet.

"We would've been here sooner, but the weather - " Teresa began, when Johnny's father cut her off.

"Caroline, how are you?" James asked as he walked further in the room.

"I'm okay," Carly said. "We were just going to the nursery. Did you want to come with us?"

"We'd love to - Johnny, Mikey's here. Patrick and Susanna are on their way," Teresa said.

"Everyone didn't have to come up," Carly said.

"They wanted to," James said. "They're dying to see the newest Marciano."

Johnny smiled and sat down on the edge of Carly's bed and put his arm around her, "She's gorgeous," Johnny said.

"Of course she's gorgeous," Mike said as he walked in the room. "Leigh's all Carly - Johnny, your daughter looks nothing like you."

Carly felt Johnny tense next to her and she closed her eyes for a few seconds. Carly started to say something when Johnny spoke up. "Yeah, well - we're thrilled about that. Carly has all the looks in our marriage," Johnny said and kissed Carly's cheek. "Are you ready to go meet your granddaughter?"


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Johnny yawned before reaching for Carly's hand, "Her color looks better, doesn't it?" Johnny asked. There wasn't a drastic change in Leigh's color, just a slight one. But every improvement brought her closer to being able to come home. As of now, the doctors estimated that she could come home at the end of the following week.

"Her cheeks looks pinker," Carly said and lightly stroked Leigh's cheek. The slight movement didn't waken Leigh. "Morning precious. Your dad and I - we have some very special people for you to meet. Your Uncle Mikey already came to visit, but your grandparents are here now."

Johnny kissed the top of Carly's head, "Mom, Dad - meet Leigh," Johnny said. He gently took the sleeping baby from Carly's arms and handed her to his mother.

"She's beautiful," Teresa said. "Caroline, she has your mouth - and your nose."

Johnny smiled, "She does, doesn't she?" Johnny asked. He sat down behind Carly and rested his hands on her shoulders.

Carly turned slightly and smiled, "I love you," Carly whispered.

"So when does this little princess get to go home?" James asked.

Carly frowned, "Monica said by the end of next week. Maybe sooner if she puts on a little more weight," Carly said. "Leigh's recovering fine from the surgery and she was so anxious to be with everyone that she came a little early."

"You two are going to be great parents," James said. He'd seen Johnny and Caroline go through a lot over the years and he knew how much they loved each other. He was glad they were finally able to work everything out, especially with this new grandchild of his. He knew firsthand how great they were with kids, Caroline used to babysit practically every kid in the neighborhood and Johnny was great with his nieces and nephews.

"Thanks," Johnny said. "You know - I think I'm finally starting to get it." He was really lucky, his parents were great and now that he was a father he was just starting to understand what that meant. He loved Carly with everything he had, but the love he felt for their daughter was unconditional. "Thank you."

"I wish Mama was here," Carly softly said. Virginia passed away a few years ago and not a day went by that she didn't think about her, but she couldn't help but notice her absence more now that Leigh had been born.

Johnny sighed and rested his head on Carly's shoulder, "She would've loved Leigh a lot," Johnny said.

Teresa handed Leigh back to Carly, "You hold on tight to that baby girl," Teresa said, blinking back tears. "She's only this age once. Cherish every moment."

"I will," Carly promised. Leigh's eyes fluttered open for a few seconds then closed again. "Are you waking up? Your grandparents are here, they came all this way to meet you." Leigh's eyes briefly opened then closed. Carly gently patted her back and Leigh's breathing soon deepened. "Leigh must not be a morning person. She takes after her father."

"You're not a morning person either," Johnny objected.

"You were sleeping when I woke-up this morning," Carly said. "Plus I had a sedative." Carly adjusted Leigh's blanket and motioned for James to put the baby back in her incubator. "We should head back to the room, Leigh should be up later."

Johnny stood up and brushed his hand over Leigh's face, "I'll see you later," Johnny said. "Let's get you back to bed." Carly was still recovering from her surgery and the c-section, she needed all the rest she could get.

"You should head to penthouse to get some rest," Carly said as they left the nursery.

"I'm fine," Johnny said. Maybe not fine exactly, his neck was killing him and he'd love a shower but he didn't want to leave Carly and Leigh. He'd sleep later.

"Johnny," Carly protested. "You're exhausted, I can see it in your face. At least go home for a few hours."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Johnny asked.

"Yes," Carly said. "I thought I'd hit on the anesthesiologist."

Johnny stopped the wheelchair and turned to his parents, "Can you give us a minute?" Johnny asked. They nodded and his father squeezed his shoulder before heading to the cafeteria. Johnny wheeled Carly back to her room in silence and gently lifted her up and set her in bed.

"I'm not made of glass," Carly said as she adjusted her blanket. It didn't surprise her that Johnny was fussing over her, but this was overkill.

"I know," Johnny said. "You're the strongest person I know." He sat on the edge of Carly's bed and reached for her hand. "I almost lost you yesterday. A few months ago, we weren't together and I didn't know what the future was going to hold. But Carly, these last few weeks - " Johnny paused and cleared his throat. "These last few weeks have been incredible, getting married and planning our future but the thought of losing you or Leigh, living the life we planned without one of you or both of you - "

Carly started crying and Johnny pulled her into a tight hug, "We're not going anywhere," Carly promised. Johnny kissed her a few times, "Johnny, I love how you take care of me. I'm sorry for being cranky." Johnny opened his mouth to protest and Carly gently rested her fingers over his lips. "You keep telling me to rest and you need rest too. Your parents and Mikey are here. Patrick will be here later." The whole family, with the exception of Johnny's younger brother, Andrew, would be there. She knew without asking that the only reason Andrew wasn't there was because he was in Europe with his girlfriend. "We'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Johnny asked.

Carly nodded, "Go home, take a shower - change. You can bring me back lunch. If you take your dad with you, maybe he can make me lunch," Carly said and rested her hand on Johnny's cheek.

Johnny kissed Carly, "I'll be back soon," Johnny said. He was just going to make a quick stop by the nursery and head back to the penthouse for a shower and nap.

"Give her a kiss for me," Carly said.

"I - "

"I know you're going to check in on Leigh," Carly said. "Give her a kiss for me."

Johnny laughed softly, "I will," Johnny said.

* * *

Brenda picked up her mug of cocoa. It was freezing outside, but she had no food so here she was at Kelly's. She pointed at the muffins on the counter, "Can I have one of those too?" Penny nodded and she reached for a banana nut muffin. Brenda sighed and turned around, Kelly's was packed this morning. If she wanted to eat here, she'd have to eat at the counter. Brenda pulled out her planner, she had a lot to take care of over the next few weeks. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go the modeling route anymore and she needed to find something to do. All she knew was that she wanted out of her Deception contract and didn't want to be involved with L&B. When she was younger, she wanted to work on the business end of Deception. Maybe she could talk Lucy into letting her work behind the scenes instead of in front of the camera. Brenda started making a list of why Lucy should hire her as an assistant or something. She didn't want Lucy to feel obligated to hire her because of their friendship. She honestly felt she could really add something to the company instead of being the face. She'd have to update her resume.

"Hey," Jason said as he sat down next to Brenda. "Can I get a large coffee to go?"

"Jason - hi," Brenda said. "I didn't know you'd be here."

"I stopped by for breakfast," Jason said.

Brenda held up her half-eaten muffin, "Yeah, me too," Brenda said.

Jason dropped a few dollars on the counter, "Thanks," Jason said. He started to get up when Brenda put her hand on his arm.

"I thought you were eating," Brenda said.

"Coffee is breakfast," Jason said.

"Do you want to have breakfast here - with me?" Brenda asked. "I mean, we're both here." She wasn't sure why, but she'd actually gotten used to having breakfast with Jason. Strangely, she'd actually gotten used to living with Jason. She'd fallen into a routine of sorts and now that she was in the cottage, she'd have to develop a new routine. But that didn't mean she couldn't have breakfast with Jason.

"You look busy," Jason said. When he'd walked into Kelly's, Brenda was the first thing he noticed. He'd also noticed that she was furiously writing something. Jason motioned a waitress over, "Can I get the three egg special with bacon and toast? And a side order of hash browns and sausage."

"You're going to have a heart attack," Brenda said. "That's a lot of cholesterol."

"Haven't we had this conversation before?" Jason asked. "You stick to your no-flavor omelets, I'm going to stick to my breakfast." Jason motioned to Brenda's planner, "What are you working on?"

"Just making a list. I need to update my resume - stuff like that," Brenda said.

"Did Lucy fire you?" Jason asked. He thought that Brenda and Lucy were friends. Considering that nothing was ever leaked regarding the photo shoot, Lucy didn't have a good reason to fire Brenda. If she wanted to, Brenda probably had a solid case to file a wrongful termination suit.

"What? No," Brenda said. "When I sprained my ankle, I missed an audition for a modeling job. And now that I've had time to think about it, I don't know if I want to go back to modeling."

"I thought you liked it," Jason said. He'd never really understood the point of modeling. A bunch of people standing around while they got their pictures taken with even more people watching them. But from what he understood, Brenda really seemed to like it.

"I did - I mean, I do - " Brenda sighed. "I just don't know if that's what I want to do everyday. Maybe it's time for a career change."

Jason thanked Penny as she set his breakfast in front of him, "Maybe," Jason agreed.

"Yeah, maybe," Brenda said and watched Jason eat for a few moments then went back to her list.

Jason watched Brenda while he ate. He was glad to see her focusing on herself instead of how much her life had changed over the past few months. He didn't doubt for a minute that she'd be able to do whatever it was she set her mind to.

Brenda looked up at Jason and offered him a small smile, then went back to her list. She'd give anything to erase the past few months from her life, but one thing she didn't want to change was having Jason as a friend again. "I'm going to stop by Wyndams and get a gift for Leigh, then I thought I'd stop by the hospital later," Brenda mentioned. "She's an adorable baby."

"She's cute I guess," Jason said.

Brenda groaned, "Whatever you do, don't say that in front of Carly and Johnny," Brenda said. "They're head over heels in love with that baby, if you can't say anything nice you shouldn't say anything at all."

"I said she was cute," Jason said.

"You guess? You guess she's cute?" Brenda said. "You're hopeless."

Jason sighed and set some more money on the counter, "I'll catch up with you later. Do you need a ride anywhere?" Jason asked.

"No, I have my car - I'll walk out with you though," Brenda said. She opened her purse and left a few dollars to cover her muffin and a tip. Brenda followed Jason out of Kelly's and buttoned up her coat as Jason held open the door. "Thanks." They stood outside of Kelly's in silence for a few moments. "I'm parked over there." Brenda pointed towards the lot across the street.

"Yeah, I'm at the warehouse," Jason said. "So - I'll probably see you later at the hospital."

"Yeah, probably," Brenda said. "I should get going." A group of high school kids rushed past, pushing Brenda closer to Jason.

He reached out to steady her. Brenda looked up at Jason and smiled. Jason stepped forward and touched Brenda's face and lowered his mouth over hers. When she didn't push him away, he deepened their kiss, pulling her closer to him. Brenda slid her hands up Jason's chest and rested them behind his neck. After a few moments, Jason pulled back. "I - I should get back to the warehouse," Jason said. He wasn't sure why he kissed Brenda, except for the fact that he wanted to. He'd wanted to kiss her since the day in his penthouse where they almost kissed. He wanted to kiss her to show himself it was just a physical attraction, but if that kiss was any indication of what they felt - it wasn't.

Brenda nodded, "Yeah, I have a lot to do today," Brenda quickly said, still dazed from their kiss. He kissed her. And what disturbed her most of all about this, was not that Jason kissed her - but that she enjoyed it. She wasn't sure what it meant or if it meant anything. Jason wasn't the most impulsive person she knew but she didn't really want to over analyze the situation. It was a kiss, an incredible kiss, but just a kiss nonetheless.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: I can't count. There are two more chapters after this one. Thanks for reading :)

Chapter 18

Brenda stepped off the elevator and glanced towards Jason's penthouse before heading to Carly and Johnny's. She hadn't really seen Jason since the day they kissed a few weeks ago. They'd run into each other a few times at the hospital and a few more times at Kelly's, but nothing that lasted more than a few minutes. Brenda toyed with the ring that she'd been wearing on her left ring finger for the past month. Every time she ran into Emily, she was being pestered with questions for a wedding that wasn't going to happen. Brenda shook her head, she had plenty of time to deal with that later. Brenda took a deep breath then offered a small smile to the guard at the door.

"Ms. Barrett," Reynaldo said as he let her in the penthouse.

Carly looked up when she heard the door open and smiled, "Brenda, hi," Carly said. "Come in."

Brenda took off her coat and set down her purse. She took the shopping bags she brought with her over to Carly. "I was at the mall the other day - I saw a few things, I just couldn't resist," Brenda said.

"Thank you," Carly said. She started pulling out baby clothes, "These are adorable. I swear, Leigh's going to have more clothes than me." Between her, Johnny's family and Brenda, her daughter already had plenty of clothes. "Just look at these overalls."

Brenda smiled, "Yeah, I love the stitching - those flowers - "

"You know, I told myself that if I had a daughter - I wasn't going to go overboard on pink, but she just looks so cute in pink," Carly said.

Brenda laughed, "I know," Brenda said. "All girls should wear pink until they decide they don't want to. So where is she?" Brenda looked around the room, surprised that there wasn't a bassinet in the living room. Carly liked to be near Leigh at all times, and if Carly wasn't with her then Johnny was. She supposed that most of that had to do with the fact that Leigh had needed surgery and she had to stay in the hospital an extra week and they didn't want her alone. "Is Leigh with Johnny?"

"She's sleeping. I'm just enjoying a few hours to myself before she wakes up," Carly said. She should probably be resting herself, she really hadn't known how draining motherhood would be - but she just wanted to read a magazine like a normal person. She also wanted to order dinner and maybe she and Johnny could have a quiet dinner together before Leigh woke up.

"Oh, if you want to get some rest - I can come back another time," Brenda offered.

"Stay," Carly said. "You know - since you moved out, I haven't really seen you around much." She still wasn't sure what was going on between Jason and Brenda. She thought that there might have been something going on, but then Brenda moved back to her cottage. "Come to think of it, I really haven't seen Jason that much either. Have you?"

"Seen Jason?" Brenda asked. "A few days ago, I guess. Just in passing."

Carly nodded, "Is everyone laying off - you know - " Carly's voice trailed off, not really wanting to mention the photo shoot.

"Yeah," Brenda said. "Jason - he took care of everything. I'm not sure if I mentioned it to you, but AJ - "

"What about AJ?" Carly asked.

Brenda looked at Carly strangely, not sure why she was so anxious. "Nothing really, he just got a hold of one of the photographers and got some photographs," Brenda explained.

"Good," Carly said without thinking. "I mean, not good - but better AJ than someone else, because Jason can handle AJ."

"Yeah, he can," Brenda said, thinking back to the day AJ and Jason had that weird confrontation in the hospital. "I'm not sure what - but something's going on between the two of them. It's something more than just this photograph thing. He said it was about ELQ, maybe part of it is, but I just can't stop thinking that it's something more."

Carly waited a few seconds before answering, "Maybe - but whatever it is, I'm sure Jason's handling it," Carly said. She wasn't really too sure on the details and right now she didn't care. The DNA test was taken care of, AJ had backed off, Tony was no longer a problem - she just wanted to put all of that behind her and focus on her family.

"Yeah, I guess," Brenda said. "I have a meeting with Lucy in a little while, I should get going. I'll give you call - we can go out to lunch or something. Or hit the spa or something."

"Yeah," Carly said. "I'd like that."

"Okay, take care," Brenda said and left. She got the feeling that Carly knew more than she was letting on, but she wasn't going to press her for details. Whatever problems Jason was having with AJ, he obviously didn't want her to know about them otherwise he would've mentioned it.

* * *

"I'd like a cheeseburger and a side of chili to go," Jason said and set some money on the counter. He turned around and noticed Lucy sitting down at one of the tables. She motioned him over and he reluctantly walked over.

"Sit," Lucy said and gestured to the empty chair.

"I'm just waiting for take-out," Jason said.

"Then that means you have a few minutes," Lucy said. "So how are things?"

"Okay," Jason said, not really sure what Lucy was asking about. He barely knew Lucy. He knew that she had once been married to Alan, she used to have a partnership with Sonny and Luke and she worked in the cosmetic industry.

"So things with you and Brenda - " Lucy paused. She knew that the two of them weren't involved but she also knew that they'd come a long way in their relationship over the past month. She also remembered when the two of them had been inseparable. She understood that Jason was a different person now and if the he and Brenda did get together, it wouldn't be like before. But she knew that the two of them could be good for each other.

"Are the same as they were last week," Jason said. Almost every person he saw asked him about Brenda, they'd need to end their fake engagement soon because he was getting sick of answering questions about her. "So - how is Brenda?"

"You haven't seen her?" Lucy asked. "Not at all?"

"Not really," Jason said, wondering how on earth Lucy was making him feel guilty for not speaking to her. Things had been pretty quiet in regards to keeping the photographs out of the press and Jax had been out of town so he hadn't needed to check up on her.

"Well, I've brought Brenda on as a creative consultant," Lucy said. Brenda definitely knew the modeling industry inside and out, and she had a lot of great ideas.

"That's great," Jason said. "I know she wanted to keep working for Deception." He was really glad that Brenda was able to find a job doing what she wanted to do. He knew how much she had enjoyed modeling but that she was afraid of snapping in front of the camera, it wasn't a risk she wanted to take.

"We're lucky to have her at Deception," Lucy said. "Actually, Brenda should be on her way here right now - we have a meeting. If you want to hang around for a minute, you can probably catch her."

"I think my order should be ready by now," Jason said. "I really have to get going." He didn't know why, but he'd been slightly uncomfortable around Brenda since he kissed her.

* * *

Johnny walked into the penthouse and smiled when he saw Carly and Leigh asleep on the sofa. Johnny walked over to them and kissed the top of Leigh's head, "Daddy loves you Sweetheart," Johnny whispered.

"Johnny?" Carly asked. "What time is it?"

"Seven," Johnny said and gave Carly a quick kiss. He carefully picked up Leigh and set her in the bassinet, next to the sofa. "Sorry I'm late." Johnny carefully adjusted Leigh's blanket and he watched her sleep for a few more minutes.

"It's okay," Carly said. "I wanted to have dinner ready - I guess we fell asleep."

Johnny motioned for Carly to sit up and he sat down next to her, resting her head in his lap. He absentmindedly ran his fingers through his hair, "Doesn't matter," Johnny said. "I can make dinner."

"This is nice," Carly said and closed her eyes again. "Being here with you and the baby." Her life felt complete with all of them together. Everything felt so right, her life was so different than it was a month ago.

"I think so too," Johnny said. "This is where we're supposed to be." Every time he pictured his future, Carly was in it. They'd definitely taken the long road to being together, but they were now and that's all he cared about. "We had that once, we messed things up - but we're not going to make the same mistakes we did before."

Carly sat up and turned around, "I'm going to spend the rest of my life making you happy," Carly promised, resting her hand on Johnny's face. This was exactly where she wanted to be, where she belonged and she wasn't going to do anything to mess it up.

"You don't have to do a thing," Johnny quietly said. Just the fact that she was here, that was enough. Everything else would fall into place, he was sure of that.

Carly started crying and kissed Johnny, "I love you," Carly whispered. She was so grateful to have him in her life, so lucky that he loved her as much today as he did five years ago.

"I love you too," Johnny said, brushing the tears from Carly's face. He kissed her and groaned when she pulled away.

"Four weeks," Carly reminded Johnny.

"You're killing me," Johnny said. "Do you know how long it's been for us?"

Carly nodded and smiled, "I know exactly how long it's been," Carly said. "That night - we were out with friends, we were just friends - "

"We've never just been friends," Johnny said. No matter what the status of their relationship was, they had always been more than friends.

"Okay, technically we were just friends," Carly said. "And you brought me home and it was raining, we were all wet from the rain." Johnny had insisted on walking her to her door and halfway to her apartment it had started pouring.

"You kissed me," Johnny said.

"Well, if you hadn't been standing so close to me - I probably wouldn't have kissed you," Carly said. But she had felt Johnny's breath on her neck as she fumbled with her keys and the next thing she knew, she was kissing him and she didn't want to stop.

"If you had lived in an apartment with an inside entrance, I wouldn't have been standing so close to you," Johnny said. Carly raised an eyebrow, "I'm glad you kissed me."

"Why couldn't we make things work back then?" Carly asked. "I mean we loved each other - "

"Yeah, we did - but - " Johnny paused. "We weren't ready then, we're ready now." Johnny kissed Carly. "I'll be even more ready in four weeks."

Carly laughed, "Go make dinner," Carly said.

Johnny kissed Carly again, "Okay," Johnny said and noticed the shopping bags on the floor. "You go shopping?"

"No," Carly said. "Brenda dropped off some things for Leigh. She got one of her bags mixed up with Leigh's and she might stop by later to pick it up or maybe tomorrow."

* * *

Brenda brushed the snow off her coat. It had been snowing most of the day and she thought it had slowed down but the snow had really picked up in the past half-hour. Brenda smiled at the guard, "Is Carly home?" Brenda asked.

"Mr. and Mrs. Marciano took their daughter to the doctor's," Rey said.

"Leigh's follow-up appointment," Brenda muttered. She forgot that Leigh had an appointment today. She'd been on her way home when she remembered the bag she left here and thought she'd stop by and pick it up. "When you see Carly - tell her to give me a call." She could probably have Rey let her in to get the bag, but it wasn't that important and she did want to see Carly. Brenda hit the call button on the elevator and the lights flickered. "What the - "

Rey held out his arm to hold Brenda back, "If that opens, don't get in there," Rey said and reached for his gun.

"Is that really necessary?" Brenda asked.

"Jason " Rey called and protectively stood in front of Brenda.

Jason opened his penthouse door and the second he saw Brenda, everything went black. "Brenda?" Jason asked. "What are you doing here?" Jason gestured to Rey, "Go inside and get a flashlight."

Brenda sighed, "I stopped by to get something I left at Carly's," Brenda explained, then laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" Jason asked.

"We've been standing in this hall for about thirty seconds," Brenda said. "In the dark, as in no electricity. Don't you have a generator? If you don't, you should really think about getting one. How often does your power go out?"

"It'll kick on in a minute," Jason said.

"Well, I'll let you wait for that," Brenda said. "I'm tired, I'm hungry - I want to go home and take a hot bath and have dinner then go to bed. I'll catch up with you later."

"Elevator's aren't working," Jason said and took the flashlight from Rey as he reentered the hallway. He shined it on Brenda's feet and looked at her shoes. "And there's no way you're walking down fourteen flights of stairs in those boots." He motioned to his door and Brenda rolled her eyes but walked to his door. Jason nodded to Rey, "Call maintenance, check on the generator."

Brenda went in the kitchen in search of some candles and lit a few, "What was it you said to me? That I should think about getting a generator?" Brenda asked, gesturing around the pitch black penthouse. "Seems like you should take your own advice. So, now that I'm stuck here - now what?"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Carly smiled as Johnny carefully buckled Leigh into her car seat. Johnny was so gentle with Leigh, he treated her like she was the most precious cargo in the world. If she wasn't already head over heels in love with him, watching him with their daughter would easily do the trick. "Five minutes and she'll be asleep," Carly said and lovingly ran her finger along Leigh's cheek. For the most part, Leigh was not a fussy baby, she only got a little cranky if she was left alone for too long or if she was tired. She and Johnny had quickly found out that Leigh would instantly fall asleep if she was in a car. She wondered how many midnight drives they'd have to take her on before she started sleeping through the night.

"For an hour or so," Johnny said. Leigh was only sleeping about three hours at a time and that was at night. She was always awake, always watching as if she were afraid she was going to miss something. "All settled, sweetheart?" Leigh's eyes fluttered closed. Johnny smiled and moved to sit on the other side of Carly. "She's perfect."

Carly nodded in agreement, "Absolutely," Carly said. "The doctor said she's doing just fine." She'd been a little worried about Leigh's follow-up appointment, but Leigh was doing great.

Johnny wrapped his arm around Carly, "She's perfectly healthy," Johnny said and kissed the top of Carly's head. "The surgery was successful and she's going to be just fine."

Carly smiled and tilted her head so she could look at Johnny, "I know, I'm so relieved. I don't know what I would've done if - "

"We don't have to worry about any of that, our baby girl is just fine," Johnny assured Carly. The day Leigh was born was both the happiest and worst day of his life. He was ecstatic because his daughter was born, but having Leigh nearly killed Carly and then there was the problem with Leigh's heart. He was glad that Carly had been unconscious during both Leigh's surgery and recovery. On one hand, that meant he had to go through it alone but on the other hand, it meant that Carly didn't have to live through the uncertainty of their daughter's health, when her own was in question. "Both my girls are fine."

"Yes, we are," Carly said, and rested her head on Johnny's shoulder. "Johnny, why aren't we moving?" They'd been in the limo for almost ten minutes and hadn't left the hospital.

Johnny leaned forward and brought down the divider, "Francis?" Johnny asked. "Is there a reason we're still here?"

"I just got off the phone with Rey," Francis said. "The storm knocked out the power at Harborview."

"Johnny, we can't take the baby home if there's no power," Carly said and adjusted Leigh's blanket.

Johnny thought for a few seconds, the Port Charles Hotel was closer to the hospital but the odds of running into a Quartermaine was greater there than across town at the Waterfront. "Take us to the Waterfront," Johnny said.

* * *

"Do you have anything to eat?" Brenda asked as she started rummaging through the cupboards. She'd moved out about two weeks ago and the cupboards were as empty as the day she moved in. "Anything that doesn't need to be heated up?" She glanced at the dishes in the sink, "What did you have for lunch?"

"Take-out from Kelly's," Jason said. "Burger, fries and chili. Graciella comes back in a few days." Graciella had worked for him for so long, that he'd taken her for granted - she'd done all the grocery shopping and cooking, in addition to keeping the penthouse clean and doing his laundry. He'd have to give her a raise when she got back because he was sick of sending his t-shirts to the dry cleaners.

"Any chance you could send someone to Kelly's to get me something?" Brenda hopefully asked, she knew it was a long shot but it couldn't hurt to ask. She was starving. She had almost stopped to eat before she stopped here, but changed her mind at the last minute. If she'd just done that, she would be stranded at Kelly's and not here. They probably didn't have a generator but at least Kelly's had food. Besides, Jason had a generator and it wasn't even working.

"You want someone to walk up all those stairs to bring you a salad?" Jason asked.

"I don't just eat salad." Actually, she did want a Cobb salad, but she wasn't going to admit it. "I want a chicken sandwich and some soup. You know what, I'll go get it myself," Brenda said and started walking out of the kitchen when Jason stopped her. "Let me go."

"You're not going anywhere in those boots," Jason said.

"There's nothing wrong with my boots," Brenda said. "I've been walking around in them all day."

"And if you fall and twist your ankle again?" Jason asked. "Then what?"

"Then I'll drive to Kelly's," Brenda said. Honestly, it'd be easier to walk to Kelly's because it'd be easier to walk in the snow than drive in it. Her boots were not made for snow, but there was no ways she was going to admit it to Jason. The power flickered on and off a few times before staying on. "Is this the real deal or the generator?"

Jason looked at the lights for a few moments, "Generator," Jason said. The lights were on, but they were dimmer than usual. He tried to turn on the stove but it wouldn't turn on. "There's no heat. Go start a fire and - "

"Wait a minute," Brenda interrupted. "This is your house. You're keeping me here. I wanted to leave and you told me I have to stay. I'm a guest and you want me to start a fire?"

"If you don't know how - "

Brenda glared at Jason, "I know how," Brenda said and started looking for matches. "While I'm doing that you better make me lunch and I don't want to eat something that's going to give me a heart attack in five years."

Jason laughed softly as Brenda stormed out of the kitchen, muttering something about burning down the penthouse. He'd planned on making her lunch, he was just curious if she actually knew how to build a fire.

* * *

Carly leaned into Johnny and gently kissed Leigh's forehead, "You know, I pictured us doing this sometime - getting away for the night. But I didn't think it'd be this soon," Carly said.

"Me either," Johnny said, absentmindedly running his fingers through Carly's hair. "I thought we would - maybe in about four weeks."

Carly laughed, "I'm surprised you haven't reserved a room," Carly said.

"How do you know I haven't?" Johnny asked.

"Did you?" Carly asked. She wanted to be with Johnny as badly as he wanted to be with her, he was just more vocal about it. She also knew that even though he kept mentioning the date when her doctor said it would be okay for her to have sex that he'd be okay with waiting if that's what she wanted or if they needed to wait longer.

"Not yet," Johnny said. It had been so long since he and Carly had been together. Their wedding night was great, it were about as intimate as two people could be without having sex. He wanted to have one night where they could just be together, just the two of them. But he was also well aware of the fact that neither of them would want to be away from Leigh for a whole night, so who knows what would happen.

"How many times do you think we'll call home?" Carly asked.

"Too many," Johnny said.

"Maybe - just maybe, you'll be able to hold my attention long enough that I won't have to call to check on this little one every five minutes," Carly teased.

Johnny lowered his head to kiss Carly, being careful not to disturb Leigh. "Baby, trust me - I'll have your full attention," Johnny whispered before kissing her again.

Carly smiled and rested her hand on Johnny's face and tracing his lips with her fingertips, "Good," Carly said. "I love you. God, Johnny - I love you so much, I don't even how to put it into words. You know, this was where we were supposed to be. Me, you and a baby. And here we are, married. But two months ago, this wasn't anything more than a dream." Deep down she always knew that she and Johnny would find their way back to each other. She thought it would be a few years down the line before they got back together. She definitely hadn't expected it happen this soon or this suddenly.

"This is where we're supposed to be," Johnny said. They'd both tried being apart and being with other people, it didn't work. They were too much a part of each other to make it work with someone else, and neither of them wanted that. They wanted each other, they had since they were 15. "Here, together with our daughter. Maybe another baby in a few years."

"Maybe," Carly quietly said. They hadn't talked much about her health. She might not be able to have another baby. "If - if we don't, is that okay?"

Johnny sighed, for a moment he'd forgotten that Carly might not be able to have any more kids. Johnny kissed the top of Carly's head, "Of course," Johnny said. "I'm going to put her on the bed. I'll be right back."

Carly kissed Leigh's forehead, "I love you," Carly whispered. Johnny stood up and disappeared into the bedroom for a few minutes. Johnny left the door half-way open and pulled Carly into his arms.

"It's okay," Johnny said. "If we only have Leigh, she's enough. More than enough." Both of them wanted to have more kids. It wasn't about having a kid that was biologically his, he just wanted more kids - they both did. He wanted five kids, she wanted three - without discussing it, he thought they'd have around 4. But now there was the possibility that they'd just have the one.

Carly started crying, "She's amazing and she's perfect, but Johnny - we both want more kids, but getting pregnant again could kill me." She wanted a little boy, and another little girl. She knew that Johnny wanted a son or two, maybe even three. When they were engaged a few years ago, they spent a lot of time talking about the future. One of the benefits of being in a long-term serious relationship at such a young age, was that forever didn't scare them. For them, that was the easy part - it was everything else that got in the way.

Johnny gently kissed the tears from Carly's face, "I won't lie to you, I want more kids - we both do. But it's not worth it. I'm not going to risk your life for possibly having another baby." Johnny softly kissed Carly, "You and Leigh - the two of you mean everything to me. I'm not going to gamble with your life. I don't want to know what life is like without you. Leigh and I need you, I don't know if I'd be able to do this without you."

"I don't want you to," Carly whispered. Losing Virginia a few years ago hit her harder than she thought it would. The last thing she wanted was for her baby girl to not have a mother.

Johnny pulled Carly closer to him, "You'll be here," Johnny promised. "You're gonna be here."

* * *

"You can admit it anytime," Brenda said and wrapped the blanket tighter around herself. She was going to freeze to death unless it warmed up in here.

"Admit what?" Jason asked, moving closer to the fire.

"That you're the one that doesn't know how to start a fire," Brenda said. She knew that Jason could start a fire, maybe with some lighter fluid but not with matches and a log.

"I can," Jason said. If there was on thing he'd learned about Brenda over the past few months was that she wouldn't admit it if she didn't know how to do something, especially if her intellect was challenged. He supposed it had something to do with being a model - a former model. She didn't want to be seen as just another pretty face. "I wasn't sure if you could."

Brenda glared at Jason, she'd gotten dirty for nothing. He probably did it to her on purpose, he knew she wouldn't be able to take a shower after starting a fire. "How much longer is the heat going to be out?" Brenda asked. "It's freezing in here." The heat had only been off a few hours and she was surprised how quickly the penthouse had gotten cold.

"I have no clue," Jason said. It hadn't stopped snowing and he had no idea when the power was going to come back on. There was almost a foot of snow outside and it was really windy.

"You can't call someone and order them to restore power here first?" Brenda asked.

"I could," Jason said. But the truth was he didn't need to. Rey had already talked to their guy at the electric company and reminded him to make sure that Harborview was at the top of the list when power was restored.

"So why doesn't your generator work for the heat?" Brenda asked.

"I don't know, it should - but it's not," Jason said.

"You should get a space heater, since your heat's not working. I bet there's heat at Kelly's," Brenda said. "Chili too." She couldn't believe she ate canned soup for dinner. But it was either that or pasta cooked in the microwave.

"I'm sure there is," Jason said. The lights flickered on and off a few times then stayed on.

"Please tell me your heat is back on," Brenda said. "I really don't want to die of frost bite."

"You were not going to die of frost bite," Jason said. "Besides, it's back on."

"Good, that means the elevators are working and I can go home," Brenda said.

"You're going to drive home on those streets? You don't even know if you have power," Jason said.

"Fine, I'll stay," Brenda said. Jason was probably right, the cottage wasn't on a main road and it definitely wouldn't be at the top of the list when they started restoring power. "Reynaldo!"

Rey came in the penthouse and shoved his hands in his coat pockets, "Did you need something Ms. Barrett?" Rey asked.

"Will you let me know when the streets are clean?" Brenda asked. Things had been fine between her and Jason this afternoon. Of course, they argued - they always argued. For the most part things were fine between the two of them. Things were still a little awkward between the two of them since they kissed, but it's not like it was the only thing she thought about when they were alone together. She was pretty certain that he wasn't obsessing about it, so why should she? What's a kiss between friends?

Rey looked at Jason and he nodded, "Sure thing," Rey said. "Anything else?"

"No, that's all," Brenda said. "Thanks." Rey nodded and went back in the hall. Brenda stood up, "Now that your heat's back on, I'm going to take a hot shower and hope my body temperature returns to normal."

"It's not that cold in here, would you rather be outside or at Kelly's?" Jason asked. "They don't have heat."

"They have food," Brenda called over her shoulder as she walked upstairs.

"You keep mentioning that," Jason muttered and started cleaning up downstairs.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Carly ran her fingers through her damp hair and walked over to Leigh. She was peacefully sleeping in the middle of the bed. Carly smiled and gently traced her finger across Leigh's face, "Mama loves you, baby girl," Carly whispered. She kissed her fingertips and gently pressed them to Leigh's forehead. She adjusted Leigh's blanket and walked into the living room, smiling when she saw Johnny asleep on the chair. She walked over to the TV, shut it off and climbed on his lap.

Johnny slowly opened his eyes and smiled at Carly, "She asleep?" Johnny asked.

"Like an angel," Carly said, leaning forward to kiss Johnny. His hands automatically went to her waist to pull her closer, Carly pulled back slightly and smiled at him before leaning in to kiss him again.

Johnny's eyes closed and he opened them when Carly slid her hands underneath his shirt and started pulling it off. He smiled, recognizing the look he saw in her eyes. "You're a tease."

Carly's mouth flew open and she hit Johnny's arm, "I've never - "

"Never?" Johnny asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do you remember my uncle's wedding?"

"Aside from that one time," Carly said. "I've never been a tease."

"True," Johnny said, tucking a lock of Carly's hair behind her hair. "But as much as I want to - " Johnny paused and kissed Carly, "Believe me, I want to - we can't."

"I know," Carly whispered. "But, there are other things - " Carly smiled, sliding her hands down Johnny's chest resting them on the button of his jeans. "Other things for us to do - fun things." She leaned forward and kissed Johnny, sighing when he gently pushed her away.

"Let's wait," Johnny said, finding a resolve he didn't know he had. Smiling, he traced his finger along her lower lip. "Because, Caroline - when we're together, I don't want to hold back." Honestly, he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold back once they got started. "I love you."

"I love you too," Carly said, shifting in Johnny's lap so her back was resting against his chest.

"Remember the first time I kissed you?" Johnny asked, gently running his hand up and down Carly's arm.

Smiling, Carly nodded, "Joey Costa's birthday party," Carly said. "You know - that's when I fell for you." They'd been friends for so long, she'd never thought about them being anything more. But then he kissed her, and that was all she wanted with him - more.

"Did I ever tell you that Joey dared me to kiss you?" Johnny asked.

Carly turned around and laughed, "What?" Carly asked. "I didn't know this."

Johnny laughed, "You were wearing that red sweater, the one that barely reached your waist," Johnny said.

"I remember that sweater," Carly said. She'd had to beg her mom to buy it for her, she hadn't wanted to because it was too short. She'd promised her mom she'd always wear a shirt underneath it, but she never did.

"Remember Mike Moretti?" Johnny asked. "He'd been looking at you all night, and at some point he asked you to dance. Joey noticed me glaring at Mike, and told me that if I wanted you, I should do something about it. I wasn't sure, and he said if I didn't - he would."

"So wait, if Joey had never dared you - you would've never kissed me?" Carly asked. She wasn't sure if she should be flattered or offended.

"Never's a long time," Johnny said. "I probably would've, just not that night."

"What about that night after the winter formal?" Carly asked, referring to their first time. "Anyone dare you that night?"

"No," Johnny said. "Didn't need it." He'd fallen fast for Carly. They'd always been friends and it didn't surprise anyone when they started dating. They'd gotten serious really quick, and the only reason they didn't get married right out of high school was that their parents wouldn't let them. A few years later, they moved in together and got engaged. But they'd soon figured out why their parents wanted them to wait. Being in a relationship was much more difficult when you were an adult. When they broke up, he'd wondered what would've happened if they would've ignored their parents wishes and gotten married anyway.

"Good," Carly said. "Because it wouldn't really matter if I made you sleep on the couch since we're not having sex."

Johnny laughed, "No, it wouldn't matter," Johnny said.

* * *

Brenda ran her fingers through her hair, enjoying a lengthy hot shower. She hoped Jason had a hell of a water heater because she was going to stay in here until it ran out. She reached for the conditioner and poured a generous amount in her hand, and then she started massaging it into her hair. She closed her eyes letting the hot water wash over her body. She groaned when the water started to cool, apparently Jason didn't have a hell of water heater. Brenda screamed when the lights flickered on and off and the water went cold, ice cold. As soon as she rinsed the conditioner out of her hair, she hurriedly shut off the water and quickly dried off before grabbing her robe off the hook. She was glad she'd accidently left it behind when she moved out. "So much for his generator," Brenda muttered. She was seriously starting to think she'd be better off at home. Brenda towel dried her hair as best she could, the steam in the bathroom wasn't lasting. The penthouse hadn't been warm when she hopped in the shower, and it certainly wasn't warm now.

"You okay?" Jason called from the hall. He'd heard her scream when the lights went out. He was almost positive it was because the power went out, but he thought he should double check.

"Aside from freezing to death?" Brenda asked before opening the door and hurrying past Jason, nothing more than a blur in ivory silk as she went downstairs.

Jason followed her downstairs, "The power went out again," Jason said. The generator had kicked back on, but he wasn't sure if the heat was coming back.

"I noticed," Brenda said, heading straight towards the fireplace. She'd been joking earlier when she said she might get frostbite, but now it was a definite possibility if she didn't warm up soon. Wringing as much water from her hair as she could, she started towel drying her hair again.

Jason stopped at the foot of the stairs, dazed for a moment as he watched Brenda in front of the fireplace. Her hair was wet from the shower and her short robe left nothing to the imagination. His eyes traveled the length of her body and even in the poor lighting he could see beads of water clinging to her perfectly toned calves.

Despite being in front of the fireplace, she was freezing. Brenda turned around to grab a blanket and noticed Jason staring at her. "Jase?" A chill ran through her, and she wasn't sure if the goose bumps on her arm were from the temperature or the intensity of Jason's gaze. Jason didn't answer her answer her, instead he looked away and she rolled her eyes. Now that she'd taken the chill off, she needed to get dressed. She quickly walked across the living room and started up the stairs when Jason reached out for her.

The moment he touched her, he knew he wasn't going to be able to let her ago. He'd thought about her more times than he'd liked over the past few weeks and with her standing here barely dressed, he couldn't ignore his feelings for her any longer. Jason ran the back of his hand over her face a few times, before pulling her closer for a kiss. He knew there were dozens of reasons why he wasn't supposed to kiss her, but right now he couldn't think of one. Right now, the only thing he could think of was that he never wanted to stop kissing her. He pulled back slightly and laughed softly when Brenda whimpered slightly at the loss of contact. He pulled her closer for another kiss, looking up when he heard the door open.

"Ms. Barrett, the roads - " Reynaldo's voice trailed off when he noticed Jason and Brenda at the foot of the stairs. "I'll be in the hall." The door shut just as quickly as it had opened.

Brenda laughed and reached up to touch Jason's chin so he was looking at her. The glare that had just filled his face disappeared as he looked at her. "I'm surprised you didn't shoot him," Brenda said. She wasn't sure if she should be grateful or annoyed that Rey interrupted them.

"My gun is in the closet," Jason said. He wouldn't have shot Reynaldo, but he probably would've pulled his gun.

"I should get dressed," Brenda said, dropping her hand from Jason's face and taking a step back. Whatever the moment was that she'd just had with Jason, it was gone as soon as it began.

"You probably should," Jason said. He touched the lace trim of Brenda's robe, "Or - "

"Or what?" Brenda asked, closing the distance between her and Jason.

"I could get you warmed up," Jason said, his voice so low that Brenda shivered. He captured her mouth in a kiss and backed her up towards the fireplace without breaking contact.

* * *

Johnny reached over and adjusted Leigh's blanket in her stroller, "When did you feed her?" Johnny asked, reaching for the pepper across the table.

"While you were in the shower," Carly said. "Why? Is she hungry?" Carly reached for Johnny's left hand to check his watch since she never wore one. "She just ate an hour ago." Carly pushed aside her plate, "I can take her upstairs to feed her again."

Johnny lightly stroked Leigh's cheek and gave her a pacifier, "She'll be fine until we get home," Johnny said, going back to his breakfast.

Carly looked at Leigh for a few seconds then nodded, "Yeah," Carly agreed. "I've been thinking - " Carly paused and shook her head.

"About what?" Johnny asked.

"About Bobbie," Carly said. "I don't want her to know the truth, I don't see the point." She'd accomplished what she'd set out to do, she wrecked Bobbie's life but both of them got hurt. So maybe it was selfish, but she wanted to focus on the present. She wanted to focus on her daughter and husband, and not try to repair and build a relationship with her birth mother.

"Are you sure about that?" Johnny asked. He knew how much Carly had been hurt when she found out that her mother had given her up, especially when she found out she'd started a family without her. He also knew what a void Virginia left in her life when she died.

"Mostly," Carly said.

Johnny reached across the table for Carly's hand, "Okay," Johnny said. "If you change your mind, you can tell her. It's your decision." Maybe a few years down the line, Carly would feel differently - maybe she wouldn't. No matter what she decided, he'd support her.

"Do you have any idea how often I wonder how I got so lucky and I got someone that keeps me grounded? And how is it that you got stuck with the most unstable woman in the tri-state area?" Carly asked.

Johnny shook his head, "I'm the lucky one," Johnny said. "Caroline, you keep me sane." To say his job was intense was an understatement. He wasn't sure Carly would ever know how much he appreciated being able to come home and live a normal life. A life where he wasn't pressured to be something he wasn't and wasn't judged for living his life outside the law.

Carly smiled, "That's a first, me keeping someone sane instead of driving them crazy." She motioned to his plate, "Are you finished?" Carly asked.

"Yeah," Johnny said. "Why don't - " Johnny's voice trailed off as he noticed AJ enter the restaurant.

Carly turned and followed Johnny's gaze, she quickly turned around when she noticed AJ. "Johnny - "

He quickly stood up and kissed Carly's forehead, "I'll be right back," Johnny said. He walked across the room, stopping when he reached AJ. "What are you doing here?"

"Paranoid?" AJ asked.

Johnny stepped closer to AJ, "You need to leave," Johnny said. "If you don't stop following my wife around, I'll slap you with a restraining order." Johnny took a few more steps towards AJ, backing him against the wall, leaving his final threat unspoken.

"I'm not sure if you're overprotective or just stupid," AJ said. "It's not my fault that your girlfriend - I mean your wife gets around. There were what? Three potential fathers for her baby? Well, three that you know about - "

"Watch it Quartermaine," Johnny said, pushing AJ against the wall.

"She seems pretty close with my brother, maybe you should have him tested," AJ said.

Johnny took a deep breath, AJ didn't know the truth and if he had anything to do about it, he'd never find out he was Leigh's biological father. As much as he wanted to punch AJ, there was a thin line between being overprotective and having something to hide. He wanted AJ to think it was the former and not the latter. Johnny stepped back from AJ, "Maybe you should leave before you say something you can't take back," Johnny said.

"I didn't know you'd be here," AJ said. "I have a breakfast meeting with a business associate." If things went according to plan, he'd be on the next plane to Chicago to meet with the owner of one of the countries top consulting firms. He needed to get the jump on Jax, because he'd heard that J&J Jacks was also interested in this deal. He needed to make this pitch, he wanted this firm more than Jax did. Now that he didn't have to deal with the possibility of being tied to Carly for the rest of his life, he could put all of his attention on his career.

* * *

"I - I should really get going," Brenda said and glanced at Jason as she picked up her coat. The morning after was awkward enough, even more so if you weren't actually dating the person you slept with. She wasn't sure how last night changed things between her and Jason. More importantly, she wasn't sure things had to change or if she wanted them to. Honestly, she wasn't sure how she'd gotten to this place. A few months ago, she'd been planning to spend the rest of her life with Sonny. But he left her at the altar and she started rebuilding her life with Jax. Then she lost her temper at a photo shoot and Jax thought she lost her mind. A phony engagement kept her out of the psych ward but forced her to spend more time with Jason than she'd spent with him in years. She wasn't sure what started her attraction to Jason, if it was the day he almost kissed her or the day he did. But the fact of the matter was, it didn't matter when her attraction started - she'd already slept with him.

Jason slowly nodded, "Roads are clear," Jason said. He wasn't entirely sure what happened with Brenda last night. One minute he'd been watching her and the next minute he was kissing her and nothing could've made him stop. He'd spent an amazing night with a beautiful woman, but wasn't sure what came next. He spent the night with other women before, just not someone he knew as well as Brenda. It didn't matter to him if he'd never saw any of those women again. As much as he hated to admit it, it mattered to him if he never saw Brenda again. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do next, if he was supposed to call her later or ask her to stay or what. He had a feeling that his standard - Last night was great, I'll call you sometime - wouldn't go over very well.

"Right - the roads are clear," Brenda said, deciding to take her cues from Jason. The last thing she wanted to do was jump into a relationship too fast or force a relationship on someone who wasn't looking for one. The past month had given her the opportunity to rebuild a friendship with Jason and she didn't want to ruin it. That was more important to her than a relationship. She wouldn't be opposed to exploring a relationship with him, but maybe she should just let things play out. "I - I'll see you around." Brenda grabbed her purse and gave Jason a small smile. Brenda opened the door and turned around when Jason closed it. Before she had a chance to ask him what he was doing, his mouth was on hers. Teasing. Tasting. Demanding. The moment his lips touched hers, every logical thought left her mind. Brenda dropped her coat and purse, wrapping her arms around Jason's neck, pulling him closer. Desperate for air, Brenda gently bit his lower lip and Jason reluctantly pulled away.

Jason rested his forehead against Brenda's allowing their breathing to even, He hated this, he hated that she could affect him this way. Every single woman he'd ever been with had been disposable, it hadn't mattered to him if he saw her again or not - because what it all boiled down to was that he could easily find someone else to replace her, but Brenda wasn't replaceable. "You should stay for lunch," Jason whispered.

Brenda looked at Jason strangely, "It's 9:30," Brenda said, wondering if Jason was going insane. She hadn't even had breakfast and he was already thinking about lunch?

"It is," Jason said, lowering his mouth to Brenda's again.

Brenda lost herself for a moment, then pushed him away as she figured out what Jason meant. "Is sex the only thing you can think about?" Brenda asked.

Not surprised that it had only taken him a few minutes to piss off Brenda, Jason shook his head. Since he'd already pissed her off, he felt he didn't have anything to lose. "Tell me you don't want to sleep with me," Jason said.

Brenda glared at Jason, not sure if she wanted to slap Jason or kiss him. So maybe he was right, she did want to sleep with him. But she wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily, "On one condition," Brenda said.

"What's that?" Jason asked, backing up Brenda so her back was to the door. He had no clue what she wanted him to do, but right now he'd agree to just about anything. If she said she wanted to have dinner at the Quartermaines, he'd probably agree. Jason groaned when Brenda's tongue darted out, licking her upper lip. Scratch that, he'd agree. Hell, he'd even agree to a holiday dinner.

"Admit - "

"Admit what?" Jason asked, brushing his lips over hers.

" - you were - "

"I was what?"

Brenda's eyes closed as Jason's trailed kisses along her throat. She could barely string together a sentence with Jason kissing her like he was. "Admit you were jealous - "

Jason lifted his head, smirking when Brenda's eyes fluttered open and she glared at him because he stopped kissing her. "Jealous of?" He gently bit her neck and Brenda moaned as his mouth moved lower and lower down her throat.

" - jealous of Mikey flirting - "

Jason pulled Brenda closer to him and kissed her. This was the last time she'd ever moan another man's name while she was in his arms.

Confident that she had the upper hand, Brenda pulled back and placed her hands on Jason's chest to put some distance between them. "Admit it." So he was right and she did want to sleep with him, but she could walk out of here if he called her bluff.

Jason wondered if it was worth it, if being with Brenda was worth all the hassle. He looked at the one woman who never backed down from him, who never did what he told her to do and shook his head slowly. "I was jealous," Jason quietly said.

"What was that?" Brenda asked. She wasn't sure if he'd actually admit it. But now that he had, she was going to enjoy the moment.

"I was jealous," Jason said. He didn't like the way Mike had been looking at her and even though it wasn't supposed to bother him, it had. More than he wanted to admit.

Brenda bit her lower lip and smiled, grabbing Jason's shirt as she pulled him closer to her. "Stop talking," Brenda whispered before kissing him.

* * *

Johnny gave Carly a quick kiss, "Take Leigh inside, I want to check in with Jason," Johnny said as they stepped off the elevator.

Reynaldo shifted uncomfortably in the hallway. Normally, he stayed out of Jason and Johnny's personal lives, but he knew for a fact that Brenda was still at Jason's penthouse. If what he walked in on last night was any indication of how they spent the rest of their night, he was pretty sure Jason wouldn't want to be disturbed. "Mr. Morgan has company," Rey said.

Johnny glanced at his watch, wondering who Jason had over at ten in the morning. "Huh," Johnny said. It wasn't that Jason never brought a girl home, he just didn't usually care enough about them to bring them home. Unless - Johnny shook his head and laughed softly and turned to Carly. "Was that Brenda's car in the garage?"

Carly's eyes widened and she hit Johnny in the arm, "I told you there was something going on," Carly said.

"You did," Johnny said. "Forget about Jason, you can harass him later."

"Fine," Carly said, leaning over the stroller to pick up Leigh. "You awake?" Carly kissed Leigh's forehead, "I'm going to give you a bath and then maybe your daddy will read you a story before you take a nap. How does that sound?"

Johnny wrapped his arm around Carly, "Sounds good to me," Johnny said. There were so many ways his life could've turned out differently. He wasn't sure what would've happened if he and Carly hadn't broken up after the first time they got engaged. Maybe they would've gotten married and they'd be here now, or maybe they wouldn't be. But one thing he knew for sure was that they were here now and that's all that mattered to him. He and Carly had definitely taken the long, hard road to get here but he wouldn't change a thing because they were together now.

THE END

* * *

End Note: I left this open...because...just because. I may pick this up later, either as a sequel or an epilogue. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed.


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